3 records held by MS Dhoni that you might not know

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to every play the game. The list of accolades, as captain, wicketkeeper and batsman, just go on and on. As a captain, he has won all three ICC trophies during his tenure, a feat no other captain has been able to achieve in the history of cricket. As a batsman, Dhoni is deemed as one of the greatest finishers of all time in One Day Internationals.

Currently, MS Dhoni is part of the Indian team that topped the table in the league stage of the World Cup. They are all set to play New Zealand at Manchester in the semi-final. Indian team would be hoping that Dhoni can rise to the occasion in the knockout rounds.

On his 38th birthday, we would take a look at three records which he holds that you might not be aware of.

#3 Only wicketkeeper-batsman to score a Test double century in a day

It was at his second home, the M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chennai where he scored 224 against Australia in 2013. It was the first match of the series and India wanted to take the lead in the home Test. Previously, India had lost 4-0 on their previous tour to Australia.

Dhoni came in at 196-4 in reply to Australia’s first innings score of 380. The match was still in the balance despite Nathan Lyon looking dangerous on a dusty Chepauk track. It took an extraordinary innings from MS Dhoni to bat Australia out of the match. He scored 206 runs on the second day of the Test match which is the highest by a wicketkeeper-batsman on a single day in a test match.

The Indian captain stitched a 140-run partnership with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar who was batting at no. 10. That innings, in retrospect, not only put India in a winning position but also set the tone for the rest of the series which India went on to win 4-0.

#2 First player to cross 10000 runs with an average above 50

In July 2018, MS Dhoni became the first player ever to score 10k runs in One Day Internationals with an average above 50. Given that for a large part of his career, Dhoni has batted in the lower middle order, it is an incredible record.

The former Indian captain crossed the landmark in the 320th match against England at Lord’s. Virat Kohli achieved the same feat later that year against West Indies.

He has scored 10723 runs at an average of 50.58 and a strike rate of 87.67. To have such incredible numbers batting in the middle order over a career span of 296 innings is what makes Dhoni as the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman of all time in One Day Internationals.

#1 Most number of hundreds scored by a batsman at number seven

MS Dhoni has scored two centuries batting at number seven which is the most by any player batting at number seven. The reason why nobody has scored more is when someone is coming to bat at no. 7 either he has very limited overs to play or his team is in deep trouble that he had to walk in early.

Dhoni on both occasions had taken his team to a respectable position. The first instance was in Afro-Asia Cup in 2007 where he came in at 72/5 and went on to score 139 at a strike rate of 143.29 and remained not out till the end to take his team to 331/8 in 50 overs. The second century was against Pakistan in 2012, when the team was in deeper trouble. He came to bat at 29/5 as Pakistan bowlers ran through the formidable Indian batting line-up. He remained not out till the end, scoring 113 of 125 balls and taking the team to 227/6 in 50 overs.

It is a fascinating fact that both these matches happened to be in Chennai. Though the second hundred ended up on a losing cause, it was one of the greatest centuries played by a lower middle order batsman.

As he turns 38 today, we wish him a happy birthday and all the success in the rest of the career. Also, we wish to hear that famous commentary “Dhoni finishes off in style, with a magnificent strike into the crowd!” on July 14 at the Home of cricket. Thank you, MS Dhoni, for all the memories!