MS Dhoni birthday: Throwback to Captain Cool's first cricket milestone via Bihar U-19 team

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni turned 39 on Tuesday, July 7. The veteran cricketer is widely acknowledged as one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsman of all time. The right-handed batsman has also donned an illustrious leadership hat, leading Team India to victories at the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 Cricket World Cup. To commemorate the MS Dhoni birthday occasion, here is a look at a detailed analysis of the match where it all started for the Ranchi-born cricketer back in the 1998-99 season.

Also Read | MS Dhoni Stats Against Batting Megastar Virat Kohli In This Decade

MS Dhoni birthday: A throwback to MS Dhoni’s cricketing debut

Before MS Dhoni became the legend of Indian cricket for his several on-field accomplishments, he competed for the Bihar Under-19 team in the Cooch Behar Trophy in the 1998-99 season. The then 18-year old made his debut against Bengal Under-19 as a young wicketkeeper-batsman.

Bengal Under-19 batted first in the three-day match and declared their first innings at 266/7. MS Dhoni took one catch behind the stumps off the bowling of Mihir Singh Diwakar to send a well-set batsman, SS Chatterjee (30), back packing. The then youngster then contributed with the bat by scoring 33 runs off 66 balls. He struck five boundaries and a six in the process. The match concluded with Bihar Under-19 at 142-8 with MS Dhoni hitting the lone six of their innings.

It is reported that Deval Sahay, an ex-Bihar Cricket Association member, was responsible to induct MS Dhoni into Bihar’s Under-19 team. Interestingly, the story involving Deval Sahay has also been highlighted in the popular sports biographical 2016 Bollywood film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. The movie focuses on the eponymous cricketer and his rise to international cricket from a young age.

Also Read | Rohit Sharma Equals MS Dhoni Stats Of Playing Most T20Is For India

MS Dhoni movie MS Dhoni: The Untold Story: Sushant Singh Rajput death

A lot of the MS Dhoni movie shooting was done in his hometown of Ranchi itself. However, Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who played the titular role in MS Dhoni film, i.e. MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, was found hanging from the ceiling of his Bandra residence on June 14. While speaking with ABP, MS Dhoni’s business manager Arun Pandey said that the legendary cricketer is gutted after learning about the Sushant Singh Rajput death news. He mentioned the former Indian skipper was very “morose” upon hearing the news and termed the incident as 'tragic'.

MS Dhoni stats

The MS Dhoni stats place the cricketer among the all-time best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world. The 39-year-old has played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is. The right-hander has scored over 17,000 international runs across formats with 16 centuries and 108 half-centuries. MS Dhoni was equally effective behind the stumps and is currently third on the list (behind Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist) of wicketkeepers with most dismissals (829) in international cricket.

Also Read | Sushant Singh Rajput Death: Adah Sharma Shares Clip From MS Dhoni Movie

Also Read | Sushant Singh Rajput MS Dhoni Movie Co-star Disha Patani Mourns Loss

Image credit: Screenshot from RN Productions YouTube channel