5 things MS Dhoni achieved as captain but Sourav Ganguly did not

Ever since the turn of the present century, Indian cricket has been blessed by two strong leaders, each with a legacy of his own.

When the pages of Indian cricketing history are written, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's contributions to the game in the country might feature in gold, for their exploits as leaders, helped Indian cricket scale many heights.

Factions for both these captains have their own views, as to who is better than the other

We, here, look at five things which Dhoni achieved in his tenure as leader, but Ganguly did not.

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#1 Winning the Indian Premier League

If there was a blot in Ganguly's career as captain, it was his tenure as skipper, first with the Kolkata Knight Riders, then with the Pune Warriors India.

Unlike the case with India, Ganguly could not mould the side together to get them performing as a unit and it reflected in the results as well.

On the other hand, Dhoni's leadership skills proved to be the clincher twice for the Chennai Super Kings as he marshalled his troops magnificently to back-to-back wins in 2010 and 2011.

#2 Test series wins in New Zealand and West Indies

India under Dhoni won it's first Test series in New Zealand in 42 years

More often than not, Dhoni's numbers as captains in Test are judged by twin whitewashes in England and Australia in 2011 and 2012.

However, the Ranchi-based Test cricketer tasted success as a leader abroad in the early parts of his tenure, when he and his side won a Test series in New Zealand in 2009(first in 42 years) and then triumphed in the West Indies, two years later.

In his five years as skipper, it can be said that Ganguly was a touch unlucky to have not achieved both these feats.

In the 2002 tour to New Zealand, India encountered some of the worst pitches one could imagine, losing both the Tests and the ODI series and in the same year, the team missed out on drawing the series in the fifth and final Test at Jamaica, when the tail failed to resist.

Rain arrived 10 minutes after India capitulated on the last day and it stayed for such a long period of time that the first ODI at the venue in the succeeding ODI series was washed out and the second was marred by rain.

#3 The Australian whitewash at home

Dhoni's side

were

imperious against the Australians in that side

The phase between July 2011 until December 2014 saw a lot of disappointment for India, constantly away and sometimes at home as well.

In November 2012, England arrived to the country and spectacularly trumped India 2-1 in a four-match Test series.

In the late winter of 2013, the series against Australia had become an 'acid test' for Dhoni and his men.

What followed was complete demolition as on pitches, tailor-made for spin bowling, India dominated all four matches, whitewashing the Aussies 4-0 and redeeming some faith in the country's national team

Few would argue against the fact that the 2001 home series between India and Australia was arguably the greatest ever played and Ganguly can certainly take credit for taking the decision to promote VVS Laxman to number 3 which changed the game and the series.

However, that was the only bit of success Ganguly could taste at home against Australia as a much-better prepared unit trumped India in their own den in 2004.

#4 Achieving Number 1 ranking in Test cricket

Dhoni with the ICC mace

It was a dream conceptualised by Anil Kumble in 2008 and post his retirement, MS Dhoni ensured it turned to reality towards the fag end of 2009, when against Sri Lanka, he became the first Indian captain to take his side to the numero uno position in the Test world rankings.

Dhoni and his men defeated the Lankans 2-0 in a home series to clinch the top spot and essentially, complete the dream of a generation of Indian cricketers and supporters.

Ganguly's team played some superb cricket between 2000 and 2005, but they could never reach the top of the pedestal, simply because of the presence of the arguably the greatest side in the game's history- Australia.

Despite that, his side competed terrifically in almost every series in that phase and won the hearts of many supporters.

#5 Winning the 50-over World Cup

The shot which won India the World Cup

Perhaps, Dhoni's finest moment in an Indian shirt came on the night of the 2nd of April, when in front of a packed house at the Wankhede Stadium, he carried India to their second World Cup title win to end a 28-year long wait.

Eight years earlier, Ganguly had the opportunity, the team and critically, the momentum to end that wait a lot earlier.

However, on that day, he and his side came up against an Australian side on a rampage and it proved to be a bit too much for the Indians, who fell 125 runs of the mammoth target set by the Australians on that day.