As India head into Asia Cup 2025 with a fresh generation of stars, Dhoni’s Karachi masterclass remains a reminder of his ability to seize the rhythm of a game and bend it to his will
The Asia Cup 2025 is approaching rapidly. From September 9 to 28, Dubai and Abu Dhabi will host the eight-team tournament, featuring a showdown between India and PAK on September 14. India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will arrive as defending champions and record eight-time winners.
Before the next chapter begins, it is worthwhile to revisit one of the quieter highlights of the competition: the only Asia Cup century ever scored by MS Dhoni. On June 25, 2008, in Karachi, he demonstrated how a master of pacing an innings could transform even a group-stage mismatch into a career milestone.
Virender Sehwag’s blistering 78 from 44 balls and Gautam Gambhir’s 51 had already propelled India past 120 within the first 15 overs against Hong Kong. However, when Rohit Sharma struggled for 11 off 29, the innings momentarily lost its rhythm.
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Dhoni, coming in at No. 4, began in his signature style — pushing singles, lunging forward to smother spin, and waiting patiently for the bowlers to make a mistake. For the first 30 balls he faced, the strike rate remained in the 70s. It felt controlled, even restrained.
Everything changed once Suresh Raina joined him. The two added 166 runs for the fourth wicket, still the highest partnership for that wicket in Asia Cup history. Raina raced to a 66-ball century — the second-fastest ODI ton by an Indian at that time — while Dhoni shifted gears in his own quiet fashion.
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By the close, he was unrecognisable from the accumulator who had walked in. His unbeaten 109 off 96 balls came at a strike rate of 113.54, decorated with 6 fours and 6 sixes, two of which crashed onto the roof of the National Stadium. India finished with 374 for 4, their highest total in Asia Cup history at that point, before bowling Hong Kong out for 118 to seal a 256-run victory.
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That hundred was a rare gem. In fact, over his decade-long Asia Cup career in ODIs (2008–2018), Dhoni played 19 matches, scoring 648 runs in 16 innings. His record shines with an average of 64.80, boosted by the fact that he remained not out in six of those innings. His strike rate of 87.68 in the competition indicates he was never just an anchor — he scored at a pace that kept India’s innings flowing.
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Beyond that one hundred, Dhoni also made three fifties, hit 47 fours and 12 sixes, and was dismissed for a duck only once in the tournament. It was this consistency that made him not just a finisher, but one of India’s most dependable Asia Cup performers.
Some may suggest that the century came against Hong Kong, an Associate nation. However, dismissing it on that basis alone overlooks the true significance of the innings. It wasn’t merely about the opposition; it was about timing, context, and skill.
Dhoni was captain, commemorating the 25th anniversary of India’s 1983 World Cup victory, embodying both stabiliser and aggressor within the same 90 minutes.
