MS Dhoni Joins Elite List Of Indian Batsmen With Gritty Fifty In 1st ODI

MS Dhoni scored an unbeaten half-century and guided Kedar Jadhav, who impressed with 81 not out from the other end, as India defeated Australia by six wickets in the first One-day International of the five-match series in Hyderabad on Saturday. With the help of his 72-ball 59, former India captain MS Dhoni amassed 13,054 runs in 412 List A matches. The wicketkeeper-batsman became only the fourth Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket.

Former England star Graham Gooch is at the top of the list with 22,211 runs in List A cricket.

Apart from this, Dhoni's unbeaten 141-run partnership with Kedar Jadhav is the second highest fifth-wicket stand by India against Australia at home. This was also the second best partnership for any wicket in Hyderabad. 

The highest stand was put up by Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson of Australia when they produced a 145-run opening partnership in 2009.

Dhoni smashed six boundaries and a six in India's victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The sole six that the former India captain hit in Hyderabad helped him become India's highest six-hitter in One-day internationals.

MS Dhoni overtook Rohit Sharma, who has 215 career sixes for India in ODIs. Ahead of the Hyderabad ODI, both Dhoni and Rohit were tied on 215 sixes.

However, Dhoni overall has hit 223 sixes in ODI cricket with seven maximums coming while playing for Asia XI.

Legendary batsman Tendulkar is in the third spot for India with 195 sixes while Ganguly (189 sixes) and Yuvraj Singh (153 sixes) round out the top five.

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

MS Dhoni Sourav Ganguly Rahul Dravid Sachin Tendulkar India Cricket Team India vs Australia, 2018/19 Cricket