On this day in 2014, the legendary MS Dhoni played his final test and retired from the longest format of the game

By Aryan Malik December 30, 2024 10:55 PM UTC

The legendary Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni played his last test-match on this day in 2014
MS Dhoni of India leaves the field on day five of the Third Test match between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2014 | Image: Getty Images

On this day i.e 30th of December, in 2014, Indian Cricket Team's prominent skipper MS Dhoni announced his decision to retire from Test-Cricket midway through the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India. 

The 2014 Boxing-Day Test-Match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) witnessed Dhoni's final appearance in the white jersey of Team India while the introduction of Lokesh Rahul was also witnessed in the red-ball format. 

The 2014 Boxing-Day Test ended in a draw with neither sides able to secure the win but both of them showcased exceptional level of performances. Former Australian skipper Steven Smith played an outstanding knock of 192 runs in the 1st inning, while the duo of Rahane and Kohli steadied the sinking ship of the Indians by getting involved in a massive 262-run partnership for the 4th wicket.

The former played a sublime knock of 147 runs in 171 deliveries while the latter was even better scoring 169 runs in 272 deliveries before getting dismissed off the bowling of the legendary Mitchell Johnson. 

Talking about MSD, he played a decent inning of 24 runs which was an unbeaten one and it also proved to be his final one in the five-day format. While the Indians played well and were in search of their maiden BGT series victory on Australian soil, the dream didn't get achieved at that time as the Kangaroos showcased some brilliant level of Cricket and sealed the series by a margin of 2-0.

Talking about the record of MSD's captaincy in Tests, he helped the Men in Blue win the Test Mace twice under his leadership and he kept the team highly competitive in the five-day format. He led the Indian Team in 60 Test-Matches, securing wins in 27 games, 15 draws and 18 defeats. He had a winning percentage of 45% as the captain of the Indian Team in red-ball Cricket. 

In terms of personal stats, Dhoni managed to score a total of 4,876 runs in 90 Tests with the help of six magnificent centuries and 33 fifties. 

Post his retirement from the longest format of the game, MSD continued to represent the Men in Blue in limited overs formats and played his last matches in One Day International and T20 Internationals in 2019 before calling it a day on the 15th of August, 2020

The Veteran wicket keeper batsman continues to play in the best T20 league in the world of Cricket i.e the IPL for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He has helped them lift the IPL Trophy five times under his leadership.

Do Read: Travis Head at the risk of getting punished by the ICC due to his controversial Celebration in Melbourne

Google News