Former India captain MS Dhoni will join the likes of Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (344), Mohammad Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (311) and Yuvraj Singh (304), in the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday, 31 August. Dhoni will become the sixth Indian to play 300 ODIs.
The Ranchi cricketer, who is regarded to be one of the best finishers of all time, has scored 9,608 runs at an average of 51.93 in ODIs. Of the 299 ODIs that he has played, he has led the side in 199 matches.
Here’s a look at the four big records held by MS Dhoni in ODIs:
MS Dhoni recently equalled Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara’s record for most stumpings in ODIs. The wicketkeeper accomplished the feat in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
A wicketkeeper doesn’t have time to switch off during a match. He has to concentrate on every ball. Now, imagine if a keeper has to lead a side. That’s a lot of work for one player. But MS Dhoni seemed to have mastered the art.
He has led an ODI side for the most number of matches in the world with 199 matches. The second on the list is Andy Flower, far behind with 46 matches.
India are chasing a high target of 299 runs. Sachin Tendulkar gets out in the first over and India are struggling at 7/1. In comes a long-haired MS Dhoni at number three and smashes the ball all over the park! The Sri Lankan bowlers had no clue, where to bowl to MS Dhoni in the third ODI in Jaipur in 2005.
Eventually Dhoni remained not out at 183 and guided India to a six-wicket victory. His score of 183* is still the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper-batsman in ODIs.
MS Dhoni has led an ODI team for the third most number of matches in the world. He is only behind Ricky Ponting (230) and Stephen Fleming (218).
And as far as notching wins as ODI captain is concerned, Dhoni has recorded the second most wins in ODIs. Ponting leads the list with 165 wins.
(Statistics by Arun Gopalakrishnan)
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