3 T20 records of MS Dhoni that Dinesh Karthik has broken

Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik broke MS Dhoni's prestigious record for scoring the most number of T20 runs as an Indian wicketkeeper on Monday, January 27. Karthik achieved this feat while turning up for the Paarl Royals in their six-wicket win over the Durban Super Giants in SA20 2025.

Dhoni, who held this record with 7,432 runs to his name in T20s, was overtaken by Karthik during his knock of 21 runs off just 15 deliveries. Needing just three runs to get the record before the game, the former Tamil Nadu captain now has 7,451 runs in this format, which is extremely impressive.

Karthik has retired from international cricket, which allows him to ply his trade in franchise leagues outside India, the first of which in his CV has been the SA20. Dhoni, who continues to play in the IPL, will again turn up for his long-standing team Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming edition this season.

Dhoni's participation in the IPL will also give him the chance to reclaim this record from his good friend Karthik. However, the latter has gone past Dhoni to break several records, especially in this format of the game.

In this listicle, we take a look at three T20 records of Dhoni that Karthik has broken in his career:

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#3 Oldest Indian to score 50 in a T20I

In June 2022, Karthik breached Dhoni's record of being the oldest Indian to score a half-century in T20Is. He achieved this feat against South Africa in the fourth of the five-match T20I series played between the two teams in Rajkot.

Karthik was 37 years and 16 days old when he broke this record. Dhoni was the holder of this record after registering a half-century against the same opponents in 2018. The former India captain had been 36 years and 229 days old at that time. Karthik's 55 off just 27 balls helped India put up a total of 169-6 in 20 overs.

In response, the visitors floundered with the bat in hand and capsized for just 87 runs inside 17 overs. Seamer Avesh Khan was the wrecker-in-chief for India with returns of 4-18 in his quota of four overs, handing India a massive victory by 82 runs. The series was drawn 2-2 with no result forthcoming in the final game in Bengaluru.

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#2 Highest strike rate in an innings by an Indian

In a T20I against Australia in 2022, Karthik broke Dhoni's record for having the highest strike rate by an Indian batter who has faced at least two balls in his innings. In this rain-affected game in Nagpur, Karthik scored 10 runs off two deliveries thanks to a six and a boundary, amassing a strike rate of 500.

This broke Dhoni's record of a strike rate of 400 that he had achieved in a T20I against Bangladesh in 2016. Interestingly, at that time, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi came third on the list with a strike rate of 400 against Pakistan in 2022. Karthik's heroics helped India level the three-match series and eventually win it 2-1 over the Aussies.

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#1 Highest run-scorer among Indian wicketkeepers

Karthik overtook Dhoni's record of 7,420 runs in T20 cricket when he scored 21 off just 15 balls in Paarl Royals' six-wicket victory over the Durban Super Giants on Monday, January 27. The former Tamil Nadu batter needed just three runs to break Dhoni's record before the game, and in the end, got there in style.

Dhoni currently has 7,432 runs to his name in the shortest format of the game whereas Karthik has overtaken him to get to 7,451. However, the former India captain will have the option of reclaiming the honor when he turns up for the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming edition of the IPL this summer.

In the game at the Boland Park in Paarl on Monday, Durban batted first and put up a total of 143-7 in their quota of 20 overs. However, Paarl chased these runs down quite comfortably, with Rubin Hermann leading the way with 59 off 51 balls. Karthik got out for 21, but not before he almost took his side over the finish line.