Before MS Dhoni became known for finishing matches under pressure, he was a young wicketkeeper-batter still establishing his place in the Indian team. His 148 against Pakistan in April 2005 had announced
his arrival, but a string of low scores followed. On October 31, 2005, at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Dhoni produced an innings that changed how India saw his batting potential.
Sri Lanka posted 298/4 in the third ODI of the seven-match series, with Kumar Sangakkara scoring an unbeaten 138. Chasing 299, India suffered an early setback when Sachin Tendulkar fell for just two in the first over. Dhoni was promoted to No. 3, and what followed became one of the most memorable innings in Indian ODI history.
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A Knock That Changed the Chase
MS Dhoni wasted little time settling in and straight away attacked Chaminda Vaas, taking on the left-arm seamer with powerful strokes, and continued to find boundaries against Sri Lanka’s bowlers. His approach was aggressive, but he also showed patience against the threat of Muttiah Muralitharan, rotating the strike before picking the right deliveries to attack. He brought up his century off 85 balls and kept going. Rahul Dravid scored 28, while Virender Sehwag made 39, but Dhoni remained the key player behind the chase.
The right-hander finished unbeaten on 183 off 145 balls, striking 15 fours and 10 sixes. India reached 303/4 in 46.1 overs, winning by six wickets with 23 balls remaining. His innings was the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper in men’s ODIs, surpassing Adam Gilchrist’s previous record of 172. The performance also helped India take a 3–0 lead in the series. Dhoni finished the seven-match contest as India’s leading run-scorer, with 346 runs, and was named Player of the Series.
