It was the story from the third T20I encounter between India and New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The home side went on to win the clash by four runs, but the best and patriotic part of the game was when MS Dhoni prevented the national flag from getting touched on the ground. 

Time and time again, the former World Cup-winning captain, MS Dhoni, has shown his class on and off the field. A fan, during the encounter, carried the Indian flag and breached the security. He ran to Dhoni and touched his feet. In doing so, he nearly put the flag on the ground, as Dhoni quickly took it away from the fan and gave it to the security.

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Dhoni’s brilliant gesture went viral on Twitter, sending the fans into a frenzy. That was another incident of the wicket-keeper showing respect to the National flag. However, it was not a great game for the Blue Brigade as they failed to chase down the target by 213 runs and fell short by four runs.

Watch: Relive MS Dhoni preventing National flag touching ground during T20I series

Batting first, the Blackcaps put 212 runs in 20 overs for the loss of four wickets. Colin Munro clubbed 72 runs in 40 balls at a strike rate of 180 with the help of five boundaries and five sixes. Tim Seifert also smacked 43 runs in 25 balls at a strike rate of 172, while the others also chipped in with small contributions.

When MS Dhoni showed nothing is bigger than the country's flag! 🇮🇳🫡pic.twitter.com/Y4OK5iJZV9

— ` (@WorshipDhoni) August 15, 2025

India didn’t make a great start, losing the opening batter, Shikhar Dhawan, in the opening over. Vijay Shankar smashed 43 runs in 28 balls at a strike rate of 153.57. Dinesh Karthik tried hard for his unbeaten 33 runs in 16 balls while Krunal Pandya remained unbeaten on 26 runs. That was not enough to save them in the chase.

MS Dhoni retired from international cricket a year after the incident. He only features in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) these days. After a poor season for the franchise in 2025, there are inquiries about whether the Ranchi-born would still keep him available for the franchise to retain him before the upcoming edition.