Dhoni equals Ponting's world record

India’s tense three-wicket T20 win over Zimbabwe on Tuesday delivered a 2-1 series win and a world record for captain MS Dhoni.

Dhoni equalled Australia legend Ricky Ponting’s world record number of international matches captained, with both men sitting on 324 games at the helm.

Dhoni is already India’s most capped and successful captain, guiding his charges to 27 wins in 60 Tests, 107 victories in 194 one-day internationals and 41 triumphs in 70 T20 internationals.

While Ponting captained all of his 17 T20I appearances (winning seven), the bulk of his matches behind the wheel were comprised of 230 ODIs (with 165 wins, which itself is another record) and 77 Tests in charge (winning 48).

Only one other player, New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming (303), has captained his country more than 300 times.

The Australian holds the record for most international wins as captain with 220, ahead of Dhoni (175) and South Africa’s Graeme Smith (163). 

Dhoni, India’s limited-overs skipper, will undoubtedly hold the record on his own when New Zealand travel to the subcontinent for three Tests and five ODIs (held in Dharamsala, Delhi, Mohali, Ranchi and Vizag) in September and October this year.

And there is no telling what number Dhoni will finish on after he committed to playing through to the 2019 ODI World Cup after India was knocked out of the World T20 in March. 

Of active players, Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews (120) has captained the most matches, ahead of England’s Alastair Cook (118) and Ireland’s William Porterfield (111).