The legend of MS Dhoni: Greatest achievements on the field
In an expected yet saddening move, former India captain MS Dhoni brought down curtains to an illustrious international career with a typical announcement on Saturday (August 15). “Consider me retired from 1929 hrs” read a post on his official Instagram account as Captain Cool finally made the much-feared call.
In his glittering career spanning over 15 years, Dhoni scaled innumerable heights of success that is almost impossible to measure. An astute leader, shrewd captain, crafty wicket-keeper, and unparalleled finisher – Dhoni was a force, a complete army in himself.
The arrival of a sensation
Born in a middle-class family in Ranchi, he made noise in the town with his cricketing skills ever since his early days. His labour finally paid off when he secured a berth in the national team in 2004. Mahi took the world by storm when he belted 148 in his fifth ODI against arch-rivals Pakistan. He soon followed it with a massive 183* against Sri Lanka.
After a shocking exit from the 2007 ODI World Cup, a moment of melancholy had trapped Indian cricket. But with the closure of one door, another opened up as new opportunities were waiting for a side full of youngsters. When it came to leading the country on a big platform like the inaugural World T20 in 2007, Mahi was the chosen one who brought the laurels home.
The defining moment
The once unknown Ranchi-teenager had now become the man loved in every corner of India. But this wasn’t it. A truckload of achievements was waiting to come Dhoni’s way and they all did in full swing. Four years after tasting success in T20Is, Dhoni led India to a triumphant campaign in the biggest event of cricket: an ODI World Cup. It was under his leadership that India clinched historic final of the 2011 World Cup against Sri Lanka in Mumbai. A 28-year-old wait had finally ended.
Just two years after this glorious achievement, MSD created history with an inspired Indian unit in England to win the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. With this achievement, Dhoni became the only captain to win all three ICC events. Amidst bagging trophies at will, MS not only became the No. 1 ODI batsman in the ICC rankings himself but also took India to No.1 across formats between 2010-2014.
Captain Fantastic
Dhoni’s record as a captain is second to only Australian legend Ricky Ponting. However, he tops the list of playing the most matches as an Indian captain. Of the 332 matches he led India in, he won 178 and lost 120. Reading his incredible achievements as a leader almost makes us forget about the brilliant batsman that he was. He scored 17,266 runs being a player who batted seven times out of ten with tail-enders and as someone who barely had a fixed position to bat. Also, with 10,773 runs in 50-overs cricket, he happens to be only the only keeper-batsman to have aggregated over 10,000 runs in ODIs, the other being Kumar Sangakkara (13,341). In fact, his career run tally as a wicket-keeper batsman also stands second to only Sangakkara’s 17,840.
A keeper in the true sense
Having played each one of his 538 international encounters as a wicket-keeper, Dhoni tops the list of most matches as a designated wicket-keeper. In fact, he is the only man in history to feature in 500+ matches as a designated glove-man.
