Having scored just 22 runs in four innings at an average of 7.33, the big-hitting wicketkeeper could easily have been overlooked by the Indian selectors for the next match.
But the 23-year-old cracked an explosive 148 on Tuesday, including 16 fours and four big sixes, helping India to their highest-ever total against Pakistan and a 58-run victory.
In the process, he may have helped India find the missing piece of the jigsaw that the one-day side has been long searching for.
"I knew it was an important game for me," Dhoni said.
"I had played four matches and not even scored 15, let alone a 50. There were a lot of expectations from me and I needed to deliver."
Vice captain Rahul Dravid reluctantly kept wicket for almost two years, including at the 2003 World Cup, in the absence of a genuine all rounder or wicketkeeper who could bat.
It is too early to jump to conclusions, but Dhoni's emergence comes as a relief to the team management.
"We've been looking for a wicketkeeper who can bat for a long time," Indian coach John Wright told Reuters on Wednesday.
GOOD SIGN
"Rahul had to keep wicket because we couldn't find anyone. It's a good sign that Dhoni has finally made his presence felt. And what a way to do it."
If he had failed again, however, things may have looked bleak for Dhoni.
India have given few chances to players who have not made good starts to their international careers and test wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik recorded a career-best 93 in the second match against Pakistan in Calcutta.
"It was a good opportunity for me to bat up the order and I'm glad I grabbed the chance," Dhoni said. "The knock will give me a big confidence boost for the future."
Dhoni, a soccer goalkeeper in school, started his first-class career as a 19-year-old in 2001 but it was not until last year that he became a contender for the national team after a string of swashbuckling innings.
He smashed a rapid match-winning century as East Zone won the 2004 one-day Deodhar Trophy and a 47-ball 60 in the Duleep Trophy final in March 2004.
Dhoni followed up with two centuries against Pakistan A in a triangular tournament in Kenya and another fiery hundred in front of the selection panel at Bombay's Wankhede Stadium in a Challenger tournament earlier this year.
On his debut against Bangladesh at Chittagong in January, he looked scratchy batting at number seven. His highest score from four games was a shaky 12 in Dhaka.
However, just as critics hinted that he wilted under the pressures of international cricket, Dhoni silenced them emphatically.
