MS Dhoni has been a mainstay for the Indian cricket team in the last decade and so. He has been a part of the side since making his debut in 2004 and during the second ODI encounter between India and New Zealand in Mount Maunganui, he became the joint-third in the list of cricketers with most number of ODIs under his belt for India.

The list is presently being led by Sachin Tendulkar (463), with Rahul Dravid (340) right behind at second. Mohammad Azharuddin is the joint-third as Dhoni has played 334 ODIs for India and 3 ODIs for Asia XI.

A brilliant batting display guided India to 324/4 against New Zealand in the second contest of the five-match series at the Bay Oval on Saturday.

The entire top order of the visitors clicked against the hosts to help India put a challenging total against the Kiwis. Opener Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were the top contributors with individual scores of 87 and 66 respectively.

Dhoni (48 not out) joined Rayudu in the middle as the two steadily lifted India near the 300-run mark before the former fell to Ferguson in the 46th over. Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav’s (22 not out off 10 balls) fireworks then accelerated the run-rate, taking India to a good total of 324/4 in the allotted 50 overs.

(with agency inputs)

First Published: Jan 26, 2019 14:04 IST