Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former India captain, is noted for his lightning-fast stumpings. Dhoni still plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League after retiring from international cricket in 2019, and he still appears to have the Midas touch behind the stumps.
We examine some of the most famous stumpings he made over his career as he turns 44 on Monday, July 7. Most of the time, these stumpings altered the course of the game and are still remembered by the public and folklore years after they occurred.
In this article, we examine Dhoni’s five most famous stumpings during his career:
1. Sabbir Rahman, 2016 T20 World Cup
Dhoni’s stumping of Sabbir Rahman at the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup is arguably the most famous of his career. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Bangladesh was given a small target of 147 to chase, but after 69-2 in the first nine overs of their innings, they appeared to be in total control of the situation.
Dhoni then invited Suresh Raina, a part-time player, to join the assault. Before bowling a wide delivery down the legside that batter Sabbir Rahman was unable to catch, the latter took a while. After receiving the ball with good movement, Dhoni waited for the batter to lose his balance before removing the bails with a whip.
Although Dhoni is known for his fortune of running out Mustafizur Rahman in the last match of this series, this stumping of Rahman contributed to curbing the Bangladeshi run chase significantly. India finally clinched this game by one run and remained adamant of a knockout in semis although they had their hopes in the tournament.
2. Shubman Gill, 2023 IPL Final
Shubman Gill was scoring like he was playing on a different pitch altogether in the final of 2023 of the Indian premier league which was played between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans. Together with fellow opener Wriddhiman Saha he had put together a partnership of 62 runs within the first six overs of the game itself.
Ravindra Jadeja, CSK skipper Dhoni’s ace, was then instructed to deliver the game’s seventh over. Following a couple loosers, Jadeja was able to trick Gill off the final ball of this over, causing him to somewhat lose his footing. In contrast, Dhoni collected the ball, whipped off the bails, and celebrated in 0.1 seconds. Everyone understood that Gill was out when Dhoni rejoiced.
3. Keemo Paul, 2018 India-West Indies bilateral series
MS Dhoni’s stumping of Keemo Paul in the fourth match in a five-game bilateral series between India and the West Indies in 2018 was the quickest in his career. Paul was prompted to move as Ravindra Jadeja threw a ball up outside the off stump, but he was unable to make any progress.
The audience cheered loudly before he could even come up with another idea. Paul was stumped by MS Dhoni when he turned around to see what all the commotion was about. Paul’s rear foot had edged barely outside the crease, so Dhoni only needed 0.08 seconds to execute the stumping. At first, even Jadeja wasn’t certain that Dhoni had really stumped Paul so fast.
4. Mitchell Marsh, 2012 Australia-India bilateral series
MS Dhoni used his magic on the Australians again, this time in a T20I during India’s 2011-12 visit Down Under. Within 17 overs, Australia was at 119-5 with Mitchell Marsh at the crease. Rahul Sharma, a leg-spinner, threw the ball a distance outside off, allowing Marsh to attempt a drive but failing.
Marsh’s backfoot had slid outside the crease, but Dhoni only needed to push at them a little to stump him out because he had caught the ball so close to the stumps. This was one of Dhoni’s fastest stumpings in his illustrious career, taking him a total of 0.09 seconds.
5. Ian Bell, 2013 ICC Champions Trophy
MS Dhoni once stumped English batter Ian Bell in the final of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, one of the most iconic catches of Dhoni in his career. During this 20 overs a side game which had been reduced due to rain, Dhoni took the bails of Bell off an angled ball of Ravindra Jadeja in the ninth over of the game.
Dhoni didn’t even blink to remove the bails, and Bell missed the delivery entirely. Perhaps this was the turning point for the Indian side, and it was from this point that they began to think they could hold the low total of 129. They ultimately succeeded in doing so, winning the game and the title by a margin of five runs.
