Dhoni surpasses Tendulkar, Gavaskar!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a record 224 against Australia in the first Test in Chennai on Monday to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record of highest individual Test score by an Indian captain.

Dhoni, who also registered his maiden double century, went past Tendulkar's 217 scored against New Zealand in 1999-00 at Ahmedabad.

Dhoni reached the feat in the 144th over when he first hit a flat six off Nathan Lyon to reach 217 and then took a single to surpass Tendulkar's score.

The India captain however fell eight runs short of equalling Andy Flower's highest individual score by a skipper -- 232 against India.

A look at the highest individual scores by Indian captains:

224 Mahendra Singh Dhoni vs Australia (February 2013, Chennai)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni blasted his maiden double century to put India in complete control against Australia in the first Test in Chennai. He blasted 224 from 265 balls, hitting 24 boundaries and six sixes, in a stunning display of attacking batting as he shred the Australian bowling attack to pieces.

217 Sachin Tendulkar vs New Zealand (November 1999, Ahmedabad)

Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden double came against New Zealand on a flat wicket in Ahmedabad. He made 217 from 344 balls with Sadagoppan Ramesh (110) and Sourav Ganguly (125) also scoring centuries in India's first innings.

Tendulkar never looked at his fluent as he took his time to get the landmark. But he came under heavy criticism for his surprising decision to not enforce the follow-on as New Zealand escaped with a draw in one of the most boring matches ever seen.

205 Sunil Gavaskar vs West Indies (December 1978, Mumbai)

Sunil Gavaskar delighted his home fans with a splendid double century against the West Indies in a rain-curtailed first Test match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai in 1978.

Gavaskar was in control right from the start as he hit 29 fours and two sixes in his 342-ball knock but rain put paid to his efforts with the match ending in a draw.

Gavaskar came into the match in splendid form having scored a century in each innings in the previous Test match against Pakistan in Karachi. The right-hander came close to another hundred in the second innings but he was dismissed for 73.

203 Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi vs England (February 1964, Delhi)

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was the first Indian captain to hit a double when he smashed 203 against England in Delhi in 1964.

The visitors took a 107-run first innings lead and were looking to push for a victory when Pataudi thwarted their hopes with a superb innings to help India draw the match.

Pataudi, who was out for 13 in the first innings, spent nearly four hours in the second essay during which he hit 23 fours and two sixes.