• Source:JND
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JE Sports Desk: The stalwart of Indian cricket and the only captain to win all three ICC titles -- Mahendra Singh Dhoni -- is celebrating his 42nd birthday on Friday. The legendary figure in the cricketing world has been regarded as one of the finest captains and also wicketkeepers in the game's history.

On the occasion of his special, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a 70-second-long montage video of Dhoni's sixes in limited-overs cricket. Former wicketkeeper has earned the tag of the 'best finisher of the game' by many during his playing tenure.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah also extended wishes to Dhoni and wrote, "Happy Birthday to the most successful captain of Team India, @msdhoni! Your charisma, leadership, and extraordinary skills continue to inspire millions around the globe. Thank you for your unparalleled contributions to Indian cricket."

His iconic six at Wankhede Stadium against Sri Lanka handed India their second ODI World Cup in 2011 after he promoted himself up in the order and played a memorable knock of unbeaten 91* while stitching crucial partnerships with Gautam Gambhir (97) and Yuvraj Singh (21*).

Dhoni has one of the most inspiring journeys in sports history. From working as a ticket collector at a railway station, he transformed into India's biggest trophy collector, leading the team to ICC T20 World Cup 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 as skipper. He made his international debut in 2004 and made a name for himself as a ferocious hitter of the cricket ball, but mellowed down with time to a finisher who would guide his team to wins with his calculated aggression and amazing tactics.

Dhoni's strongest format was the ODIs. In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*. He is India's fifth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs). He is also the 11th most successful ODI batter of all time. The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more astonishing.

He led India in 200 ODI matches, winning 110, losing 74. Five matches were tied while 11 failed to produce a result, he has a win percentage of 55.

With 229 sixes, he is the fifth-highest six-hitter of all time and also has the second-highest sixes by an Indian next to Rohit Sharma (275 sixes). He is also the sixth-fastest player to reach 10,000 ODI runs, doing so in 273 innings.

'Mahi', as he is known to the fans, played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56.

He led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce results. His win percentage is 56.94.

With the bat, he is the fifth-highest run-getter for India across all formats. In 538 matches, he scored 17,266 runs at an average of 44.96 and a strike rate of over 79. He has scored 16 centuries and 108 fifties across all formats, with the best score of 224.

He has led a team in most matches as a captain in the sport's history. He has led India in 332 matches across all formats, out of which he has won 178, lost 120, six were tied and 15 ended in a draw. His win percentage is 53.61.

(With ANI inputs)