It was a vintage knock from the old horse MS Dhoni, as India scraped their way past the 250 run mark on a sluggish track at Antigua. With the game getting delayed due to a wet outfield, the pitch was extremely damp and that added to the woes of the Indian batsmen. Having lost in form batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli early, it again needed the calm of Ajinkya Rahane to steady the ship.
With the innings stagnating around the 40th over mark though, it was the time for India’s magician – MS Dhoni, to take over. Dhoni along with Jadhav went berserk in the last ten overs as India amassed exactly 100 runs in the phase.
The ever cool and composed Dhoni, despite struggling initially, blazed off at the death as his knock of 78 propelled India to a fighting total on a testing surface. Against the spinners, Dhoni seemed stuck at 16 from 40 deliveries, before he eventually took off and ended with a game-changing 78 off 79.
During his impactful knock, the former Indian skipper went past the tally of Australian wicket-keeping great Adam Gilchrist to become the second highest run getter as a wicket keeper. While he was marauding the Windies bowlers, Dhoni went past Gilchrist’s mark of 9410 runs as a wicket keeper, and now stands second only to Kumar Sangakkara.
The elite list is headed by the Sri Lankan great, as he has a staggering 13341 ODI runs as a keeper batsman. Dhoni currently, is second on the charts with 9438 runs. The record in itself speaks about the sheer greatness of the incomparable MS Dhoni, as he continues to be a game changer for India.
With West Indie needing 252 to win on a difficult surface, the second half of the game at Antigua promises to be a thriller.