IPL: 7 Instances when MS Dhoni did unthinkable in tournament's history

The charisma and grandeur Mahendra Singh Dhoni brings onto the field when he steps out is second to none and his humble and grounded attitude towards the game of cricket is like icing on the cake.

Dhoni has been in the international arena for almost 20 years and the long-haired boy from Ranchi burst onto the scene with a blistering 183* against Sri Lanka chasing a total of 298 in an ODI. That was the start of a legendary career and nobody knew what the world is about to witness in the coming years. Fans had no clue it will be sheer magic from a man donning jersey number 7.

Dhoni earned a name for himself by helping the Indian team cross the line on a consistent basis in tough chases and with the number of matches he played, the last-over-finish and edge-of-the-seat thrillers increased in numbers. Once, Ian Bishop while doing commentary described Dhoni as "Magnificent Mahendra" because he had just witnessed the chase master hit 15 runs in the last over when India was playing against Sri Lanka in the Tri-Nation Series Final in the Caribbean. MS Dhoni has been no different in the IPL and here are-

7 instances when MS Dhoni wreaked havoc in IPL

7. CSK vs RCB, 2011 - 70* of 40 balls

Dhoni, famous for his end-over finishes and last-ball sixes has often played gritty and tough innings where he was the lone warrior when his counterparts failed to contribute considerably with the bat. One such instance came in the 2011 edition of IPL at the Chinnaswamy stadium when CSK took on RCB. Put into bat, CSK was struggling at 22/4 in the last over of the Powerplay when Dhoni walked out into the middle. With his cool head, Dhoni calmed the storm and slowly stitched a partnership with Saha, who later got out for a well fought 22. 

 Dhoni looked cool as a cucumber and took advantage of every loose ball bowled to him by the RCB bowlers but the real party started after the 18th over when he started to change gears. At the beginning of the 19th over, Dhoni was batting at 45 of 31 balls. But with 12 balls left, it was easy to guess that Dhoni was not going to hold back. Dhoni smashed three sixes and a four in the last two overs and got CSK to a respectable total of 128/8. 

 Dhoni batted with a strike rate of 175 where only two batters breached the double-digit mark from the CSK team. With the top order failing and a below par effort from the CSK batting unit, the match was always in favour of the RCB team, but to witness such dominant batting by Dhoni was a blessing in disguise for the CSK fans.