07 May 2024

Was The Post 2011 World Cup Era Also That Phenomenal For The Captain Cool?

Dhoni was born in Ranchi on July 7, 1981, to a middle-class Rajput family as the youngest of three siblings. His father was a public sector employee and his mother, a homemaker. MSD completed his schooling from Jharkhand. At that time he played as a goalie for his school’s football team. In 1998, his cricketing journey started as he began to play for the Central Coalfields Limited team. The former Indian skipper was in Bihar under-19 squad in 1998-99 and represented the same state in the Ranji trophy in 1999-2000. The initial phase of MSD’s career was a little tough as he worked as a ticket examiner at Kharagpur station in 2001. However, his hard work and determination paid off well in 2003-04 Ranji Trophy where he represented the Jharkhand’s cricket team and in the same year he made an entry to the team India A when the team was on a tour to Kenya and Zimbabwe. What impressed everyone was the phenomenal catching and stumping techniques showcased by the rising cricket star with which the Indian team’s need for a remarkable wicket-keeper ended! In 2004, MS Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh and the subsequent year marked his test cricket debut against Sri Lanka. The ODI start for MSD wasn’t that great as he got knocked-out at duck but still, the selection panel picked him for the Pakistan ODI cricket series. Was That A Start To The MS Dhoni Age? Yes, this particular series proved to be the luckiest one for the cricket legend he scored remarkable 148 runs in only 123 bowls in Visakhapatnam and surpassed the previous record of the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper. In 2005, Sri Lanka’s bilateral series of ODI captain cool made a mark again by hitting 183 runs off 145 deliveries that too without getting knocked out! In the same tournament, Dhoni earned the Man of the Series title and finished the series with the highest run aggregate of 346. The year 2006 was considered productive for the former Indian skipper as he performed excellently in a series against Pakistan and grabbed a spot in the ICC ODI Batsmen Rankings by replacing Ricky Ponting. How Was The 2007 World Cup Experience For MSD? The period preceding the 2007 Cricket World Cup went well for the Indian cricket players as the squad won series against Sri Lanka and West Indies. In both the series captain cool had an average above 100. The Indian squad got knocked out of the championship after losing against Sri Lankan and Bangladesh teams in the group stage. The span wasn’t that great for Dhoni’s as his under-construction home in Ranchi was vandalized by political activists. However, he performed amazingly in a match against Bangladesh when the team India was on a tour to their home soil in 2007. Dhoni was held the Man of The Match as well as the Series. Mr. Cool vice-captained the Indian cricket ODI squad for the series against South Africa and England. In June 2007, BCCI upgraded Dhoni to an ‘A’ grade contract and named the skipper for the India T20 squad in the same year in September. India-Australia 2009 series proved to be great for the stumping genius as he scored well and took the first-ever international wicket as well. The same year marked his dominance in the ICC ODI Batsman rankings for a couple of months that was changed by Australian batting sensation Michael Hussey. Besides, ICC named him as skipper and wicketkeeper of the World ODI XI in 2009. Unfortunately, the MS dhoni game wasn’t at the peak in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. Yet, this superstar led the team to lift their second World Cup title by defeating Sri Lanka. Dhoni was named as the Man of The Match by hitting a mesmerizing 91 not out and finishing the game in just his style with a remarkable sixer.