Dhoni leads captains of crash

MS Dhoni made only a modest contribution to India's T20 victory over Sri Lanka in last night's Asia Cup, but there was nonetheless an obscure slice of history within his unbeaten seven.

Dhoni, a World Cup and World T20 winning captain, became the first international skipper to hit 200 sixes across cricket's three formats.

It's an obscure statistic, but one that highlights both the longevity and hitting power of the India captain, who took the reins as a 26-year-old and was immediately feted by his countryman as an inspirational leader with success in his first tournament – the inaugural World T20 in 2007.

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In 315 innings across Test, ODIs and T20s as captain (he has of course now relinquished that role in Test cricket), Dhoni's numbers make impressive reading: 10,827 runs at an average of 47.07, strike-rate of 76.43, with 11 hundreds and 70 fifties, and of course those 200 sixes.

The captain who comes closest to Dhoni's six-hitting record is Australia's own Ricky Ponting, who hit 171 maximums across three formats during 324 matches in charge.

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Ponting's numbers as captain are equally staggering: 376 innings, 15,440 runs at 45.54, strike-rate of 72.55, with 41 hundreds and 88 fifties.

Ponting, who generally batted at three compared to Dhoni who bats down the order, has the Indian covered for most sixes in an innings.

In the famous '434 match' against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2006, he hit nine sixes during a spectacular 164 from 105 deliveries.

He also hit eight in an unbeaten 140 against India in the 2003 World Cup final, and finally against the Indians once more, he plundered seven sixes in 108no in Bangalore in 2003.

Dhoni built his reputation on closing out innings – and matches – but has still managed to hammer six sixes in an innings on three separate occasions, including once in a Test-best 224 against Australia in 2013.

The third man on the list, with 170 sixes as captain – just one behind Ponting – is Black Caps great Brendon McCullum.

McCullum drew curtains on his career only last month, breaking Adam Gilchrist's Test sixes record during a 54-ball century in Christchurch – the fastest ever in the five-day game.

He finished with 145 from 79 balls, an innings that included six sixes – one of four occasions the Kiwi master blaster hit six or more in an innings.

Two of those other innings were in Tests; during one furious month in late 2014, McCullum blasted Pakistan and Sri Lanka for 202 and 195 respectively, in two knocks that contained no fewer than 11 sixes apiece.

McCullum's 170 sixes as captain came from just 140 innings, a strike-rate that puts Dhoni and Ponting in the shade.

The trio are well ahead of the fourth man on the list – Chris Gayle, with 134 sixes – so we're asking the question (above), who is the best captain of the trio?