On October 31, 2005, Team Indiawicket-keeper batter MS Dhoni shone with his bat and helped his team chase down 299 runs, with six wickets in hand and 23 balls remaining in the ODI game played in Jaipur.
Earlier, at the toss, Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu emerged victorious and elected to bat first. Sri Lanka got a superb start as their openers Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya started confidently. However, in the sixth over, Jayasuriya fell against Ajit Agarkar after scoring 15 off 15. Skipper Atapattu struggled to be among the runs as he got dismissed against Jai Prakash Yadav after hitting 17 runs off 49 balls.
With Sri Lanka reeling at a score of 77/2 in 20.1 overs, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene stepped up and stitched a 151-run partnership for the third wicket off just 141 deliveries. Farveez Maharoof also chipped in with his brisk 33* off 16 and helped the visitors to erect a total of 298/4 in 50 overs. Sangakkara returned to the pavilion with his unbeaten 138 which came in 147 balls.
MS Dhoni's extraordinary batting helped India pull off the huge target
Pursuing the target, India lost Sachin Tendulkar (2 off 3) in the first over but MS Dhoni, who was promoted in the batting order, took Sri Lanka's bowling attack to the cleaners. With Virender Sehwag, he built a 98-run stand for the second wicket off just 84 balls.
Sehwag departed after hoarding 39 off 37 but Dhoni looked relentless against the bowlers. In the 25th over, he brought a ton in just 85 deliveries. Eventually, India chased down the target in 46.1 overs and Dhoni concluded his knock with an unbeaten 183 off 145. Dhoni's batting display also got him the Player of the Match (POTM) award.
