MS Dhoni’s 300th ODI: His remarkable career in numbers

BY : News Gateway /  Cricket / New Delhi 

Playing his 300th ODI, MS Dhoni joined list of six other India players to have reached that landmark, just the 20th player ever and the list is made further remarkable by Sachin Tendulkar, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara who played 400 ODIs

MS Dhoni played his 300th ODI on Thursday when he took the field alongside his India peers against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Playing his 300th ODI, MS Dhoni joined list of six other India players to have reached that landmark, just the 20th player ever and the list is made further remarkable by Sachin Tendulkar, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara who played 400 ODIs and Shahid Afridi missed out by just two matches.

However, one needs to take into account that earlier cricket involved two formats while now it is played across three formats which is testimony to Dhoni’s fitness and consistency to keep going.

“It is never easy to survive for so many matches in international cricket. It speaks about Dhoni’s longevity in the game. He is a terrific all-rounder,” says former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Harris, who played 250 matches in the 1990s.

“Like Tendulkar, Dhoni is one of the least criticized players in India and that speaks volumes about his contribution,” says former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More, who was the chief selector in 2004, when Dhoni was selected.

His career has seen numerous accolades – as a player as well as captain. He’s the only captain to have won all three big ICC events – the World Cup, Champions Trophy and World T20 and led India to 331 matches across formats which is the most by any captain in cricket’s history. As a batsman, Dhoni has a staggering 40 unbeaten innings which has taken his average to 52.2 and it is a mind-boggling 101.84 in successful run chases.