NEW DELHI: It was on this day, 16 years ago, when MS Dhoni registered his first century in international cricket. The former India skipper registered the feat against Pakistan in the second ODI of the six-match series.
The match was played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. In the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first.
The hosts lost the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the fourth over of the innings and it brought Dhoni to the middle. Dhoni along with Sehwag wreaked havoc on the Pakistan bowlers and the duo formed a 96-run stand, which saw Sehwag going past the 50-run mark.
Sehwag (74) was sent back to the pavilion in the 14th over, but the wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni then found support in Rahul Dravid and the duo formed a 149-run stand.
The flamboyant Dhoni smashed 15 fours and 4 sixes in his innings and he managed to play a knock of 148 runs from 123 balls, taking India's total to 356/9 in the allotted fifty overs.
India then managed to defend the total as the side bundled out Pakistan for 298 as Ashish Nehra scalped four wickets.
In his career, Dhoni played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka. He also remains the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).
During his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket. His Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings has also managed to win the tournament three times under his leadership.
Dhoni had called time on his international career in August 2020 and he was then seen playing IPL for Chennai Super Kings. His franchise was not able to make the playoffs last year and it was the first time that CSK did not manage to make to the top four.
The wicketkeeper-batsman will next be seen in action in IPL 2021, beginning April 9. CSK will be playing their first match against Delhi Capitals on April 10 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.