Arguably the greatest captain the game has ever seen, MS Dhoni is one leader who was able to go out and win every single trophy that was there on offer. He was a player who came out on top, both as a player and a wicket-keeper. Dhoni holds some big records as a captain of the team and here are some of the best:
Most matches as captain in international cricket:
One record that a lot of captains will find hard to beat is the longevity of Dhoni’s leadership at the top. He has been the captain of the Indian team for 331 matches across all formats and went past Ricky Ponting’s record of 324 in a game against Zimbabwe last year.
Such a record is unlikely to be broken in a long time though one can never say considering the number of games that cricketers play on a yearly basis.
Most limited overs finals won as captain:
Dhoni’s ability to raise his and his team’s levels for big tournaments meant that he was able to win the most number of limited overs finals in the game. His total of 4 wins from 6 games means that he is statistically the most successful captain in the game.
Dhoni has also won all the limited overs trophies in the game through his playing career.
Second most ODI wins as captain:
Dhoni’s limited overs ability means that he is also the second most successful ODI captain to have ever played the game. This is quite a big achievement considering the fact that the game has seen so many great captains over the years.
Dhoni’s 110 wins is second only behind Ricky Ponting’s 165 wins as captain.
Second most runs in ODIs as captain:
The former Indian captain’s 6633 runs as captain is once again only behind Ricky Ponting’s overall tally of 8497 runs. It must be noted that most of Dhoni’s runs as a player and a captain came when he batted much lower down the order, having only a minor chunk of the overs to play.
This record means that Dhoni is one of the most successful middle-order captain and batsmen to have ever played the game.
Most sixes as captain:
Dhoni is however, the proud holder of a record nobody is surprised he has. He does have the most number of sixes as a captain, having hit 126 sixes in his captaining career, which is three more than Ricky Ponting.
Dhoni was always known as a hard-hitting batsman and his immense power has allowed him to smash so many sixes.
By Rohit Nair
