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Rajneesh Gupta salutes Captain Cool.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's surprise resignation as India's limited overs skipper on Wednesday, January 4, brings to an end one of the most successful captaincy tenures in cricketing history.
A surprise choice for the captaincy in 2007, under Dhoni India has won everything possible, both in the 50 overs and the T20 format -- including the World T20 title in 2007, the 50 overs World Cup in 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.
Dhoni led India in 199 ODIs, of which India won 110 matches. At home he captained the team to 43 wins out of 73 matches.
Dhoni's record as captain in ODIs:
| Mts | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In India | 73 | 43 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 58.90 |
| In the opposition's venues | 86 | 39 | 39 | 2 | 6 | 45.35 |
| In neutral venues | 40 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 70.00 |
| Total | 199 | 110 | 74 | 4 | 11 | 55.28 |
Dhoni enjoys the best captaincy record against Bangladesh, among all the Test playing nations, having won eight games out of 11 for a success percentage of 72 against the neighbours.
On other hand, Australia proved to be tough opposition, with India winning just 14 games out of 40 against the Aussies under Dhoni's leadership.
Against Pakistan, Dhoni guided India to 11 wins out of 18 games.
Dhoni's ODI captaincy record against each country:
| Opposition | Mts | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 40 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 35.00 |
| Bangladesh | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 72.73 |
| England | 28 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 60.71 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| The Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| New Zealand | 18 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 44.44 |
| Pakistan | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 61.11 |
| South Africa | 19 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 42.11 |
| Sri Lanka | 41 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 60.98 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| West Indies | 15 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 66.66 |
| Zimbabwe | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
Dhoni first captained India in an ODI in 2007, against Australia at Bangalore -- the first ODI of a seven match series which was eventually washed out because of rain.
The extra burden of captaincy never really impacted Dhoni, who boasts of a better record as a skipper than as a player.
He played 84 ODIs before he was appointed captain and his performance only got better when he was handed the reins of the team.
Comparing Dhoni's record as a player and as a captain:
| Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As a player | 84 | 2,477 | 183* | 44.23 | 96.26 | 3 | 14 |
| As Captain | 199 | 6,633 | 139* | 53.92 | 86.29 | 6 | 47 |
As expected, Dhoni's record as a batsman in ODIs is top notch.
He has an impressive tally of 1,596 runs against Sri Lanka at an average of 61, while also scoring 1,204 runs against Australia.
Against England, he has made 901 runs at an average of 53, while also scoring 723 and 684 against New Zealand and Pakistan respectively.
Dhoni's batting record in T20Is as a captain against each country:
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 40 | 1,204 | 139* | 43.00 | 80.91 | 2 | 6 |
| Bangladesh | 11 | 319 | 101* | 63.80 | 86.68 | 1 | 1 |
| England | 28 | 901 | 87* | 53.00 | 93.27 | 0 | 8 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 109 | 109* | - | 113.54 | 1 | 0 |
| Ireland | 2 | 34 | 34 | 34.00 | 68.00 | 0 | 0 |
| The Netherlands | 1 | 19 | 19* | - | 47.50 | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 18 | 723 | 84* | 55.61 | 80.24 | 0 | 6 |
| Pakistan | 18 | 684 | 113* | 57.00 | 82.50 | 1 | 5 |
| South Africa | 19 | 531 | 92* | 35.40 | 91.70 | 0 | 3 |
| Sri Lanka | 41 | 1,596 | 107 | 61.38 | 87.40 | 1 | 14 |
| UAE | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| West Indies | 15 | 428 | 95 | 71.33 | 91.64 | 0 | 3 |
| Zimbabwe | 4 | 85 | 85* | - | 111.84 | 0 | 1 |
Captain Cool first made his mark as skipper in the T20 format, when he led a young squad to the World T20 title in the inaugural edition of the tournament in South Africa in 2007.
He has led India in 72 T20 Internationals, with India winning 42 out of them.
Dhoni as captain in T20Is:
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In India | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| In opposition venues | 23 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 56.52 |
| In neutral venues | 29 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 65.52 |
| Total | 72 | 42 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 58.33 |
As captain, Dhoni boasts of a good record against Pakistan with India losing just one out of eight T20Is against them.
India never lost a T20 game to Bangladesh under his leadership.
Dhoni's T20I captaincy record against each country:
| Opposition | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 69.23 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| England | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 37.50 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Afghanistan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Pakistan | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 87.50 |
| Scotland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| South Africa | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 55.56 |
| Sri Lanka | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| West Indies | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16.66 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
Interestingly, Dhoni has played just one match as just a player for India in the T20 format, way back in 2006 against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Dhoni's batting record in T20Is as a player/captain
| Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As a player | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
| As captain | 72 | 1,112 | 48* | 37.06 | 122.60 | 0 | 0 |
Dhoni has played 13 T20Is against Australia, scoring 231 runs at an average of 38.
He has played 10 games against Sri Lanka, against whom he scored 129 runs, but he hasn't played too many games against the other teams.
Dhoni's batting record in T20Is as a captain against each country
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 2 | 33 | 18* | - | 220.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Australia | 13 | 231 | 48* | 38.50 | 113.79 | 0 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 89 | 26 | 89.00 | 167.92 | 0 | 0 |
| England | 8 | 167 | 38 | 41.75 | 131.49 | 0 | 0 |
| Ireland | 1 | 14 | 14 | 14.00 | 107.69 | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 106 | 30 | 35.33 | 97.24 | 0 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 8 | 93 | 33 | 23.25 | 119.23 | 0 | 0 |
| Scotland | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| South Africa | 9 | 124 | 45 | 41.33 | 129.16 | 0 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 10 | 129 | 46 | 32.25 | 119.44 | 0 | 0 |
| UAE | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| West Indies | 6 | 98 | 43 | 32.66 | 130.66 | 0 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 28 | 19* | 28.00 | 93.33 | 0 | 0 |
India has consistently won trophies under Dhoni's leadership, starting with the 2007 World T20 triumph to the Asia Cup T20 victory in Bangladesh last year.
The 2011 50 overs World Cup triumph would certainly rank as the highest point of his career, which saw India win back the World Cup after a long wait of nearly 28 years.
India's tournament wins under Dhoni's captaincy:
| Year | Format | |
|---|---|---|
| ICC World T20 in South Africa | 2007 | T20I |
| Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia | 2008 | ODI |
| Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka | 2009 | ODI |
| Asia Cup in Sri Lanka | 2010 | ODI |
| ICC World Cup in India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh | 2011 | ODI |
| ICC Champions Trophy in England | 2013 | ODI |
| Celkon Mobile Cup in the West Indies | 2013 | ODI |
| Asia Cup T20 in Bangladesh | 2016 | T20I |
Dhoni is second in the list as the most successful captain with the bat in ODIs, just behind A B de Villiers, who boasts of a better average and a strike rate.
Dhoni has the better tally of runs with 6,633 from 199 games as compared to de Villiers, who has 4,219 runs from 87 One-Dayers.
For most part of his career, Dhoni came in at No 5 or No 6 or below and has been content to play the role of finisher as against de Villiers or Kane Williamson or Steve Smith, all top order batsmen.
Most successful captains with bat in ODIs (Minimum 25 matches):
| Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB de Villiers | 87 | 4,219 | 162* | 65.92 | 111.05 | 13 | 22 |
| M S Dhoni | 199 | 6,633 | 139* | 53.92 | 86.29 | 6 | 47 |
| Kane Williamson | 30 | 1,367 | 123 | 50.62 | 81.03 | 2 | 10 |
| Steve Smith | 33 | 1,433 | 164 | 49.41 | 87.32 | 4 | 8 |
| Ashish Bagai (Canada) | 27 | 1,011 | 92* | 48.14 | 68.86 | 0 | 10 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 45 | 1,756 | 111 | 47.45 | 84.30 | 1 | 14 |
| Michael Clarke | 74 | 2,745 | 117 | 45.75 | 77.19 | 5 | 17 |
| Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe) | 34 | 1,369 | 138 | 45.63 | 85.77 | 5 | 7 |
| Martin Crowe | 44 | 1,634 | 100* | 45.38 | 70.09 | 1 | 13 |
| Greg Chappell | 49 | 1,718 | 138* | 45.21 | 74.69 | 3 | 12 |
Dhoni is also second in the list of most successful captains with the bat in T20 Internationals, just behind Faf du Plessis, his former Chennai Super Kings team-mate.
Most successful captains with the bat in T20Is (Minimum 25 matches):
| Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faf du Plessis | 31 | 1,003 | 119 | 40.12 | 130.93 | 1 | 6 |
| M S Dhoni | 72 | 1,112 | 48* | 37.06 | 122.60 | 0 | 0 |
| Graeme Smith | 27 | 803 | 89* | 32.12 | 127.46 | 0 | 4 |
| Brendon McCullum | 28 | 735 | 74 | 29.40 | 130.78 | 0 | 5 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 29 | 753 | 86 | 28.96 | 115.31 | 0 | 5 |
| George Bailey | 28 | 470 | 63 | 26.11 | 140.71 | 0 | 2 |
Photographs: BCCI