Analysing MS Dhoni's greatest achievements as captain

Two days ago, MS Dhoni received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India. It was clear that he received this for his outstanding services to cricket, since he has arguably been India's best ever captain. Under his reign, India won every single ICC event possible: the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy.

Moreover, under Dhoni's tenure as Test captain, India reached the top of the rankings in 2009. In addition to all this international success, Dhoni has notched up two IPL titles with CSK. In this article, I will try to determine what Dhoni's greatest achievement as captain has been.

The ICC Tournaments

As mentioned earlier, Dhoni led India to victory in all three ICC tournaments and remains the only captain to have done so. Working through them chronologically, India's first tournament win was the 2007 T20 World Cup. The tournament was hosted in South Africa and was the first of its kind.

India topped group D and later their Super 8 group as well, earning them a spot in the semis. After a large win over Australia, and a tense final against Pakistan, India were eventually crowned champions. However, while this is still a fantastic achievement, it was not as good as the two other ICC titles.

Four years later, India went on to lift the ODI World Cup. The tournament was hosted in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and the home conditions certainly helped Dhoni's side. Fourteen teams were involved in the tournament. India put in some stellar performances to beat Australian in the quarterfinals and Pakistan in the semis. This meant that they played Sri Lanka for the trophy, which they won in incredible style as Dhoni himself blasted a six to seal the victory. While the ODI World Cup is the most prestigious ICC event, India's victory there is not Dhoni's greatest achivement, in my opinion. The reason for this will become apparent shortly.

Dhoni remains the only captain to have won all three ICC events

Indeed, I believe that it was India's Champions Trophy win in 2013 that was Dhoni's biggest achievement. The eight teams participating in the competition had all taken part in the 2011 World Cup and, moreover, the tournament was hosted by England. As previous tours have shown, India have struggled in England, but they adapted well to the conditions.

Incredibly, the Champions Trophy was the only tournament in which India actually went unbeaten. On top of this, the final was reduced to just 20 overs a side and India had to rapidly adjust to the new conditions and match situation. Overall, the conditions were much tougher, while the standard of opposition remained the same, which makes Dhoni's Champions Trophy victory the best out of the three.

Test Status and IPL Titles

India achieved the number one status in Test cricket for the first time in its history in 2009, with Dhoni as captain. Emotions were high after India's Test win against Sri Lanka (which granted them the spot at the top) with Sachin Tendulkar saying: "I have been waiting a long time to get to this position. In fact, just not me, (the) entire nation."

Dhoni played a significant role in India's ascent to the top. His captaincy earned India the Test wins that they needed. However, it is worth remembering that the rankings take into account previous victories. Therefore, this achievement was not entirely under his leadership, technically, unlike winning a one-off ICC event.

The Chennai Super Kings have won two titles under MS Dhoni

The only thing left is to analyse Dhoni's stint with CSK. The franchise won back-to-back titles, in 2010 and 2011. However, that achievement is nothing compared to winning titles internationally. The IPL is a domestic, franchise tournament and is not on the same level as an ICC event.

Conclusion

Overall, then, I believe that it was India's Champions Trophy victory that was Dhoni's greatest achievement as India captain. Taking India to the top of the Test rankings is a close second, followed by the ODI World Cup win. His achievements in T20 cricket are great, but they do not rank as highly as his other accolades.