Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 36 | 10 records held by 'Mahi' in international cricket

Indian cricketer MS Dhoni is celebrating his 36th birth anniversary on Friday. The wicketkeeper-batsman was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand (then Bihar) on July 7 in 1981.

Dhoni has been one of the pillars of Indian cricket over the last decade. 'Mahi' has been one of the impact players for India in all three forms of the game. For someone who switched from football to cricket at a rather late stage in life, Dhoni took small steps which turned into rapid strides in his glittering career so far.

Dhoni has mesmerised fans across the world with his cool and calm captaincy, destructive hitting and his ability to finish off games in his trademark style.
Dhoni has been the most successful captain for India in international cricket winning all three major trophies under his captaincy. Dhoni catapulted to fame lifting the ICC T20 Trophy in 2007. He added another golden moment in the annals of Indian cricketing history by winning the 2011 World Cup after a gap of 28 years. Dhoni finished the treble as a captain by leading India to the Champions Trophy title in 2013.  

Here are ten unique records held by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in international cricket

1. First captain to win all three major ICC Trophies

M.S Dhoni is the first captain to win all the 3 major trophies held by ICC. Team India won T20 World cup defeating rivals Pakistan in 2007, won ICC World cup by defeating Srilanka in 2011 and won ICC Champions Trophy against England in 2013. These 3 wins are under captain cool making him a unique captain in cricket history.

2. Highest individual score by a wicket-keeper batsman in an ODI innings

MS Dhoni registered the highest individual score by a wicket-keeper batsman in ODIs by scoring a massive 183* off 145 balls against Srilanka in 2005 with a strike rate of 126.20 which includes 14 fours and 10 sixes.

3. Captain who won most T20 international matches

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the most matches as a captain in T20 Internationals. He is the first captain to win ICC T20I world cup in 2007. MS Dhoni has captained India in 76 T20 Internationals, out of which India have won 41 and this is the highest by any captain in the international cricket history. 

4. Most matches as captain Wicket-Keeper in International cricket

In 2007 Indian cricketing legends suggested Dhoni as Indian captain and the rest is history. Dhoni held a record in captaincy also by captaining Men in Blue for 331 matches. Dhoni is the only captain to lead an international team in 50 or more matches in each format.

5. Most runs in T20Is as a captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has scored 1,112 runs in T20Is, the most by a captain in T20 internationals. He scored his debut half century and highest score 56 recently against England. 

6. Most Sixes in International Cricket as Captain

MS Dhoni has captained India in 324 international matches till date and scored 10,964 runs. He has hit 204 sixes in international cricket as captain of the Indian team, the most by any captain in international cricket. 

7. Most Stumpings in International Cricket

MS Dhoni has claimed 148 stumpings in 439 international matches, the most by any wicketkeeper in international cricket till date. There are only three wicket-keepers in the history of international cricket who have more than 100 stumpings to their name.

8. India's Most Successful Test captain

MS Dhoni has captained India in 60 Tests winning 27 out of them. He has the record of captaining India to most wins in the longer format of the game.

9. Most centuries while batting at Number 7 in ODIs

MSD has scored nine centuries in his ODI career from 278 matches. Interestingly, he has scored two centuries while batting at number seven in ODIs which is the most by any batsman in ODIs while batting at that number. 

10. First Indian to hit 200 ODI sixes

In 2017, Dhoni became first Indian and fifth overall to hit 200 sixes in ODIs.