Stats: The 10,000-run club in ODIs
He might not have revived India's fortunes in the second ODI at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. However, MS Dhoni earned himself a slice of the record books during the encounter against England. The wicket-keeper batsman, who turned 37 earlier this month, completed 10,000 runs in ODIs.
Chasing a daunting target of 323, India found themselves tottering at 140/4 when Dhoni walked into the crease. The visitors had just lost their captain and star batsman Virat Kohli to a Moeen Ali delivery. The arrival of the former skipper did not quite make a difference as England cruised to a convincing 86-run victory to level the series.
The Lord's faithful implored Dhoni to turn back the clock and revisit his glory days as a master finisher. But waning reflexes, as well as a slowing surface, curtailed his stay in the middle to an insipid 59-ball 37. During the course of his sluggish knock, the veteran became only the 12th batsman in ODI history to breach the 10,000-run mark.
Also Read: MS Dhoni becomes fourth Indian to score 10,000 ODI runs
Dhoni joined fellow Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid in the illustrious club. In Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka have their very own eminent quartet.
Aside from the above-mentioned octad, the distinguished list also comprises the likes of Ricky Ponting, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara. Among the traditional eight cricket giants, only England and New Zealand do not have any representative in the 10,000-run club in ODIs.
It is pertinent to note that Dhoni has only scored 9830 runs for India. The remaining 174 runs of his ODI tally have come for Asia XI. During a three-match series against Africa XI in 2007, he smashed an unbeaten 139 to follow scores of 2 and 33.
Among all batsmen in the 10,000-run club, Dhoni is the only one to possess an average of above 50. Tendulkar's average of 44.83 is a distant second best. The gloveman's *current strike-rate of 88.27 is second only to Jayasuriya's remarkable 91.2.
Considering that they have both batted predominantly in the lower middle-order, Dhoni and Inzamam have only scored ten tons. When expanded to fifty-plus scores, the Indian icon's collection of 77 such knocks is the lowest in the 10,000-run club.
As the team's designated wicket-keeper, Dhoni is the only second batsman to get into this venerated group. Sangakkara had scored 13,341 of his 14,234 runs whilst also donning the keeping gloves.
From 320 matches, Dhoni needed only 11,321 balls to complete 10,000 runs. He is the second fastest after Jayasuriya who had required just 11,296 balls to reach the landmark. In terms of innings taken (273), the gloveman is the fifth quickest to the milestone.
Among current batsmen, Kohli appears the likeliest candidate to become the next entrant in this elite group. The current Indian captain needs 292 more runs to get to the 10,000-run mark. Depending on how long he goes, Caribbean juggernaut Chris Gayle (presently at 9585 runs) can also attain the milestone.
The 10,000-run club in ODIs
*Note: All statistics are accurate as of 15th July 2018)