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[Watch] When MS Dhoni Made His India Debut And Was Run Out On First Ball On This Day In 2004

Kashish Chadha

image-lqhqzd42MS Dhoni made his India debut in December 2004 (Twitter)

December 23 holds a special place among all the big dates in India's cricket history as it was on this day, 19 years back, that the legend of Mahendra Singh Dhoni unfolded at the international stage. The great wicketkeeper-batter made his debut at the highest level during the 2004 tour of Bangladesh.

Dhoni embraced the cricket field for India for the first time in the first ODI of the three-match series played in Chattogram versus the Bangla Tigers. The swashbuckling right-hander from Jharkhand, who had been identified as one of the promising talents from the tier 2 cities by BCCI's historic Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDW), was given the nod to don the Indian cap.

The 23-year-old had been earmarked for international potential after impressive domestic performances, including a pathbreaking 'A' series in Kenya where he blasted the Pakistan 'A' attack for some scintillating knocks and earned the 'Player of the Series' with 362 runs. 


When Dhoni Made His India Debut 

Fast-tracked to India colours with a nod of approval from the then chief selector Kiran More and skipper Sourav Ganguly, Dhoni had carried a wave of expectations before his India debut owing to his reputation of a six-hitting machine. 

As it panned out, however, the youngster was forced to walk back after just one delivery at No.7 as he was run out after being called out for a quick single by top-scorer Mohammad Kaif.


Watch the video here


Dhoni endured a rough patch in his initial five outings, including a pair of One-Day Internationals at home versus Pakistan in early 2005, before he finally unleashed his wrath at the top-level game with a memorable century upon getting promotion in the batting order. 

The dominant batter produced a devastating knock of 148 against the arch-rivals in Visakhapatnam on April 5, 2005 and backed it up with a tremendous 183 not out in his next series versus Sri Lanka later that year to cement his place in the side as India's first-choice wicketkeeper. 

The rest as they say is history as Dhoni embarked on an unmatched journey and built an unparalleled legacy as India's greatest wicketkeeper-batter and legendary skipper, under whom the nation won three major ICC trophies.