IND vs NZ 2017: MS Dhoni Becomes First Wicket-Keeper to Complete 200 Catches in India
Oct 27, 2017 at 3:19 PM
Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has arguably been the greatest ever captain the country has witnessed reached yet another milestone in his ODI career, as he came the 1st wicket-keeper to complete 200 international catches across formats in India.
He reached the landmark when Bhuvneshwar Kumar induced an outside edge in the 2nd ODI in Pune from Martin Guptill’s bat, and Dhoni safely grabbed it behind the stumps.
He became the 3rd wicket-keeper in the world to achieve the feat. Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara and English wicket-keeper Alec Stewart are the two other wicket-keepers who had accomplished this feat in their respective countries before Dhoni did it a couple of days ago.
In the list of most catches, he is the 4th position behind Adam Gilchrist (417), Mark Boucher (402) and Sangakkara with 383 scalps. The southpaw also represented ICC World XI and Asia XI in a few matches.
The former skipper took one more catch, as the innings progressed, as Ross Taylor gloved a short delivery from Hardik Pandya straight to Dhoni. It was a brilliant piece of bowling by the Indian pacers, as the Kiwis got reduced to 27/3. Barring some useful contributions, no one got going, as the Black Caps could eventually muster below par 230.
Shikhar Dhawan played a terrific knock and shared a useful stand with Dinesh Karthik who also scored a half-century and ensured India reached the target with relative comfort. Dhoni played a couple of delightful shots during his unbeaten innings of 18 off 21 deliveries, as the hosts romped home by six wickets and with four overs to spare.
After the loss in the opening ODI at the Wankhede, India needed to win the 2nd match to keep the series alive, and they did that in style. It was a professional performance by the hosts, as they humbled the Kiwis and outclassed them in all three departments of the game. India will look to continue their winning run and clinch yet another series when the two teams meet for the 3rd and the decisive ODI in Kanpur on Sunday.
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