Soon, Dhoni would become a permanent member of the side with his USPs being a much-feared lower-order pinch-hitter who could take any opposition to the cleaners and a man with astute keeping faculties.Дhoni is a very different cricketer when on the field. There was a deja vu of sorts as in just his 5th Test, Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan, this time at Faisalabad, in January 2006, to save the match for India and once again displayed his skills at the big stage when it mattered the most.

Before the year could end, he hammered a ferocious 183* against Sri Lanka in Jaipur to chase down 299 with ease. In just his 5th ODI, he registered the famous 148 against Pakistan at Vishakhapatnam. A duck in his debut ODI and a succession of low scores followed, but the then-captain Sourav Ganguly vested his faith in him and decided to give more opportunities to the youngster.Дhoni lived up to all of this. However, things were not all smooth at the start. His stupendous showing there (a first glance for the world into his power-hitting abilities) got him drafted into the Indian teamвЂ™s tour to Bangladesh in 2004. Soon, things started falling in place for this prodigious wonder as scouts from BCCIвЂ™s Training Research Development Wing (whose purpose was to spot talent from the financially backward regions) took note of his skills and soon he was in India A teamвЂ™s tour to Kenya. Joining the Railways Ranji team, he began work as a Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at the Kharagpur Railway Station. He was upto the task though, slowly but surely. In his early years, he started making waves in the local cricketing circles вЂ“ a young frail-looking lad clearing the ropes with ease! Despite his talents, his background meant that the journey for him would be arduous. The acme of it all вЂ“ the night of 2nd April 2011 вЂ“ lifting the World Cup after 28 years.Д«orn in Ranchi, his is a tale of grit, determination, non-conformism and stupefying levels of self-belief. Cool as a cucumber they say and so was he.ДЄll these qualities kept paying rich dividends for him, the team and the country. He was the same in pleasure and pain, victory or gain, always managing to stay in the present. Things did go wrong at times but that never deterred the man from trusting his instincts.

But that was characteristic of MS, always prone to the route not taken and stumping (another characteristic feature) us all on almost every occasion. It was a gamble they said when he promoted himself up the order, ahead of Yuvraj Singh. The most raved of it all has to be the six that won the 2011 World Cup (needless to say Ravi ShastriвЂ™s voice served as the most perfect accompaniment one could wish for). The man has offered us so many moments to cherish both on the field and off it. MS, Mahi, MSD, Thala, Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh Dhoni! Footballer in school, later Traveling Ticket Examiner, Cricketer, Army man, Businessman! The more things seem clear about Dhoni, the more enigmatic (even Bharat Sundaresan couldnвЂ™t unravel much in his book, as he himself accepted in the closing chapters) he remains.

Six a side cricket score sheet excel