Moments from MS Dhoni's last match as captain

It was an all emotional moment for Indian cricket fans when MS Dhoni took the field for India A against England in the first warm-up match. The match, despite being a warm-up encounter, managed to grab many eyeballs because of one solitary reason. It Dhoni’s last match as captain of the Indian outfit. Albeit India A lost the match, Dhoni showed glimpses of his vintage that the fans have longed for.

His services to Indian cricket as a leader are unmatchable. MS Dhoni was rewarded with the role of India’s captain for the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007. The new captain and the new look Indian team under his leadership did the improbable. They emerged victorious in the tournament and Dhoni had announced himself as the next generation leader of the team.

Rahul Dravid’s stepping down from the ODI captaincy put him forward as the ideal successor in ODIs. It was only a matter of time that Dhoni became the full-time captain of the Indian team in all the three formats of the game. He managed to lead India to the number one rankings in Test cricket. It was under his leadership that India won the 2011 World Cup.

The only ICC trophy that eluded him was the Champions Trophy. He got that too in 2013 in England. Now, recently, he shocked and surprised everyone by suddenly deciding to step down as the Indian captain from all formats of the game. He led India in a record 331 matches – the most by any international captain.

Coming to his last game as captain, Dhoni walked into bat at number 5 after Ambati Rayudu retired out on 100. He started off slowly and then built the crescendo in his innings. One of the epic moments of the match was when an intruder ran into the field to touch his feet. Such immensely is this man revered that it was there for all to see. In the last over of Indian innings, he did what he is best at. He finished off in style by clobbering 23 runs with two fours and two sixes in the 50th over.

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He remained unbeaten on 68 off mere 40 deliveries. The run chase never really gave India complete domination and they eventually lost the game. However, for the fans, there were several special moments of MS Dhoni in the match.

Watch the most special moments of those compiled by the BCCI.tv from Dhoni’s last match as captain: