Mahendra Singh Dhoni Leapfrogs Pataudi in Record of Zeroes as India Captain

Even when he is not scoring, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is breaking records. A dubious piece of statistic has helped Dhoni achieve another 'first' as Indian Test captain. On Saturday, when India lost the Brisbane Test by four wickets, Dhoni scored his eighth Test duck, making him the first Indian captain to score eight or more ducks. The previous Indian record was held by Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who had failed to open his account on seven occasions as skipper. (Nathan Lyon contradicts Dhoni, praises umpires)

Dhoni is India's most successful captain. Down 2-0 in the four-Test series versus Australia, Dhoni leadership style in the longer format of the game has always been under the scanner. Brisbane was Dhoni's 89th Test match. He has led in 59 of them. (Wives to join battered Indian side Down Under, no room for girlfriends)

Critics often ask a pertinent question. Would Dhoni have made the Test XI if he was not India's captain? Now that Virat Kohli has scored back-to-back centuries on his debut as Test captain in Adelaide, Dhoni's Test future looks suspect. (India should've forced Dhawan to bat earlier: Anil Kumble)

Dhoni is playing the 'experience' card to retain his place in the line-up. In the first Test when Dhoni sat out due to injury, Wriddhiman Saha blew good starts as India crashed to a 48-run defeat. Saha is considered a better keeper and a good middle-order bat. (Ishant Sharma fine adds to India's Brisbane 'insult')

"There is no substitute to experience. We cannot get experienced players from anywhere. These same players have to play more matches and get that experience. The more we play overseas more will be experience. We cannot get experienced players from anywhere else," Dhoni said.

India have now lost six Tests in-a-row Down Under starting from the series opener in the 2011-12 series. In between, they also suffered defeats in South Africa, New Zealand and England. (India in Australia: Akshar Patel replaces injured Ravindra Jadeja)

Interestingly, some of the most successful Test captains are worse than Dhoni's record of zeroes. New Zealander Stephen Fleming, considered by many as one of the best in Test cricket, has 13 zeroes as captain while Graeme Smith of South Africa has 10. Dhoni is 'tied' with Hansie Cronje (South Africa) and Michael Atherton (England). Both were respected Test captains.

Dhoni's second innings duck in Gabba was his 10th zero in a Test innings while keeping wickets for India. He became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score eight or more ducks. The previous Indian record was held by Naren Tamhane, who had failed to open his account on eight occasions.

Dhoni became the 15th wicket-keeper-batsman to score 10 or more ducks in Test cricket. Wasim Bari of Pakistan leads the keeper-batsman list with 19 ducks. Ian Healy (New Zealand) and Mark Boucher (South Africa) have 18 and 17, respectively.