MS Dhoni joins Mohammad Azharuddin as India's most successful ODI captain
The 2011 World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni equalled the record of most number of ODI wins as captain of Indian cricket team on Sunday. The 33-year-old is now on level with Mohammad Azharuddin’s 90 wins as leader following India’s 6-wicket win against England at Trent Bridge in the 3rd ODI of the 5-match series.
It took Dhoni just 161 matches compared to Azharuddin’s 174 to register 90 wins at a win percentage of 60.92.
India outplayed England for the second time in a row, reversing the tides following a disappointing Test series against the hosts. The right-hander also became the wicket-keeper with most international stumpings in the match.
The team under Dhoni is now on a 7-match winning streak in England in the 50-over format following their unbeaten run to clinch the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Interestingly, Dhoni is now 4th in the overall list of captains with most wins under their belt. Ricky Ponting (165), Alan Border (107), Hansie Cronje (99), Stephen Fleming (98) and Graeme Smith (92) are ahead of him. With none of them active, the captain from Ranchi has a good chance of surpassing a few of them by the time he decides to hang up his boots.
Sourav Ganguly is third in the list of most successful Indian captains with 76 wins while his successor Rahul Dravid sits at fourth spot. However, Dravid enjoys a higher win percentage compared to the captain who led India to the finals of the 2003 World Cup. Kapil Dev, the skipper of the 1983 world champions with 39 wins occupies the 5th place.
India’s most successful captains in ODIs:
| # | Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MS Dhoni | 161 | 90 | 57 | 4 | 10 | 60.92 |
| 2 | Mohammad Azharuddin | 174 | 90 | 76 | 2 | 6 | 54.16 |
| 3 | Sourav Ganguly | 147 | 76 | 66 | 0 | 5 | 53.52 |
| 4 | Rahul Dravid | 79 | 42 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 56.00 |
| 5 | Kapil Dev | 74 |
39 |
33 | 0 | 2 | 54.16 |
*Stats updated till 30th August, 2014