MS Dhoni congratulated by Sachin Tendulkar on reaching 100th half-century

MS Dhoni became the fourth Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid to do so. (Source: File/PTI)

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni achieved another milestone as he scored his 100th international half-century in the first ODI against Australia at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram stadium. Dhoni achieved the feat during India’s first ODI of the five-match series against Australia after scoring 79 runs at Chepauk on Sunday. He became the fourth Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid to do so.

Dhoni’s innings was one of the turning points of the match. India were reeling at 87/5 when Dhoni was joined in the middle by Hardik Pandya. The 2011 World Cup winning captain then played second fiddle as Pandya turned the tide on the Australians. It was during their partnership that Dhoni reached his milestone 50. After Pandya’s dismissal, Dhoni himself took on the role of destroyer-in-chief. It was then some vintage MS Dhoni that the Chepauk crowd got to see as he went after the bowling towards the end and got India to a formidable total.

Sachin Tendulkar had earlier congratulated Dhoni when he 100 stumpings in ODI cricket and made that connection when he commended him.

Yet another 100 for @msdhoni! This time in front of the stumps! Congratulations on a century of 50s Mahi 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/2yPf1wUnW7

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 17 September 2017

Tendulkar was part of the squad that Dhoni led to victory in the 2011 World Cup. Tendulkar had been part of five Indian World Cup squads before that. He had seen the highs of reaching the final in 2003 and the low of being knocked in the group stage itself in 2007 before winning in 2011. Tendulkar has repeatedly credited Dhoni and his team mates for helping him realise his dream of winning a World Cup for the country.

Many others congratulated Dhoni on his achievement. Here are a few:

100th fifty in International cricket for MS Dhoni – 66 in ODIs, 33 in Tests, 1 in T20Is. #INDvAUS

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) 17 September 2017

 

Congratulations @msdhoni on your 100th International half century and aptly it happens in Chennai.#INDvAUS

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) 17 September 2017

 

Yet another 100 for @msdhoni! This time in front of the stumps! Congratulations on a century of 50s Mahi 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/2yPf1wUnW7

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 17 September 2017

 

Dhoni stepped down as India’s skipper in January 2017. Since then he has been an integral part of Virat Kohli’s ODI setup.