On April 5, 2005, India met Pakistan in the second ODI of the six-match series in Vishakhapatnam. The Men in Blue under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly had already won the first match, but this time, it had to be special as a long-haired newbie wicketkeeper-batsman made his name with an unforgettable knock.
India won the toss and decided to bat first and Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed run out for just 2 runs. But after that, it was 10 overs of mayhem for Pakistani bowlers as Virender Sehwag and newly promoted MS Dhoni went berserk, hitting the all over the stadium. Sehwag made 74 in 40 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes, toying with the likes of Shahid Afridi, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Sami, and others.
Dhoni was then joined by Rahul Dravid after Ganguly also fell for 9 runs and the wicketkeeper-batsmen demolished the Pakistani bowling attack as he slammed his maiden century and ended up with 148 in 123 balls with 15 fours and 4 sixes. Thanks to some late order hitting as well, India managed 356/9 in 50 overs.
In reply, Razzaq (88) and Yousuf (71) were the only two decent scores from Pakistan as they managed just 298 runs with Ashish Nehra picking 4/72 and Yuvraj taking three scalps. India won the match by 58 runs.
MS Dhoni was named the Player of the Match for his century and it was the first of many tons to flow from the bat of this young keeper, who would go onto create history for the Indian team.
He 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 for the first time.
Here is the video of his innings:
