Some scores in the 90’s are as good as a hundred. You can take the example of former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. He did score 16 centuries but one can’t forget his multiple half-centuries whose value transcended the sheer weightage of runs.
#5 95 vs West Indies in Kingston, 2009
India was reduced to 7/3 and then 82/8 in the second ODI against West Indies when Dhoni forged a long, 101-run partnership with RP Singh. Before getting dismissed as the last wicket he scored a 130-ball 95 and made sure India got to a fighting total.
#4 99 vs England in Nagpur, 2012
India was 71/4 towards the end of Day 2 when Dhoni joined Kohli in the middle and built up a 198 runs stand for the fifth wicket. With Alastair Cook’s direct hit, Dhoni fell 1-run short for his century. He is still the only wk-batsman to get dismissed on 99 runs by a runout in Test cricket.
#3 90 vs South Africa in Centurion, 2010
Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn cut their batting lineup to size as the visitors folded for 136 before Proteas racked up a gigantic total of 620/4. Dhoni walked out with the score reading 277/6 in the second innings and raced along to 90 off 106 deliveries but that was not enough to avoid an innings defeat for India.
#2 92 vs South Africa in Indore, 2015
After failing to polish a run chase in the first ODI, Dhoni was in the firing line again. He walked out after Kohli’s dismissal with the score reading 82/3 which soon became 124/6. It was the Indian skipper who finished on a stellar unbeaten 92 off 86 deliveries.
#1 91* vs Sri Lanka in Mumbai, 2011
April 2, 2011, ODI World Cup Final, India was in real trouble when Sachin departed on a score reading 31/2. Gautam Gambhir and Kohli tried to put things back on track with an 83-run stand. Once Kohli departed, Dhoni did the unthinkable by promoting himself and later sealed the World Cup with one of the most iconic shots in history.
