Only captains with a 100% win record after the first four Tests
A captain is someone who handles and carries his team with utmost responsibility irrespective of the format. The skipper leads his side from the front with their batting or bowling performances and that helps the team to grab a win. In the longest and oldest format of the game, few quality skippers have managed to keep a 100% track record right at the start of their careers.
Let’s take a look at the players with a 100%-win record after their first four Tests as a skipper in the last five decades:
1. MS Dhoni
Dhoni first donned the captaincy hat in the whites against South Africa in Kanpur in 2008. The Asian giants won the encounter by eight wickets as they levelled the series 1-1 (3), with Dhoni getting off the mark as a captain. In the second of the four-match series against Australia in 2008 BGT, India registered a mammoth 320-run win in Mohali under Dhoni. In the last game in Nagpur, India defeated the Aussies by 172 runs to win the BGT by 2-0 (4). Dhoni’s fourth win as a captain was a memorable one as India chased down 387 to beat England by six wickets in Chennai in 2008. Overall, Dhoni led India in 60 Test matches with 27 wins, 18 losses and 15 draws to his name.
2. Babar Azam
Babar Azam first led his team against South Africa in Karachi Test in January 2021. The Asian team won by seven wickets to take a 1-0 lead. In the second and final match, the hosts defeated the Proteas by 95 runs to clinch the series 2-0. Next up was Zimbabwe in April 2021, when Babar’s team won by an innings and 116 runs in Harare. Pakistan followed by a win by an innings and 147 runs at the same venue to grab the series 2-0. Thus, Babar making it four out of four. He has skippered his side in 18 Test matches so far with eight wins, six losses and four draws.
3. Rohit Sharma
Current India captain Rohit Sharma has played four games as a skipper and won all of them. The 35-year-old led his side in the format against Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2022. India won by innings and 222 runs. In the second and final encounter in Bangalore, the hosts showed no mercy. They recorded a 238-run win to seal the series 2-0. Rohit’s third and fourth games came against Australia in the ongoing series, which they are leading 2-0, having defeated the Aussies by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur followed by a six-wicket in Delhi.
