MS Dhoni thanks seniors and teammates after becoming India's most successful ODI captain

MS Dhoni took time to sign autographs after his 91st ODI win as captain.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday became the most successful Indian captain after his young side beat England by 9 wickets in the 4th ODI to seal the series. The World Cup winning captain registered his 91st ODI win when India, driven by a strong opening partnership, earned a 3-0 lead with one left to play in the 5-match series.

Commenting on the landmark, Dhoni said: "When I started leading the team, I got a fantastic team then, and I have got a fantastic side right now. There will be ups and downs, but thanks to everyone, whoever I have played with. Without their contribution it wouldn't really have been possible.

“All the senior players I played with and who played under me, followed by the youngsters. I personally feel we are a very good, a fantastic ODI side. And there will be ups and downs, but what is important is to keep the intent positive. Thanks to all the players".

Dhoni’s first ODI win as captain was against Australia in Chandigarh in his fourth match in-charge of the team. The Ranchi-born duly credited his seniors who gave complete support to the young captain in his early days after he took over the leadership. While the 2011 World Cup win was achieved with the help of the experienced men, Dhoni led-his young guns to the Champions Trophy win in England, 2013.

Successful turnaround

The win at Edgbaston also marked India’s longest winning streak in international soil – eight, including the 5-match unbeaten run to the Champions Trophy title in England. The side turned tables on the home side after a forgettable 1-3 Test series loss.

"The good thing is that we have kept improving from the first ODI onwards. That's definitely a big positive. It was a good toss to win today. The fast bowlers bowled really well initially and gave us those early breakthroughs because of which we were able to put pressure on their middle order.

"Overall we are very happy. Ajinkya Rahane also got a century and we got an opening partnership. So it was a complete game for us," felt the 33-year-old.

India was striving for a successful opening partnership in away ODIs for a long time and Shikhar Dhawan finally came good in the company of Rahane. The pair scored 183 runs – the fourth highest opening stand for India outside Asia.

"In this particular game, yes, the openers batted well. But they have to continue doing this in each and every game, or most of the games.

"That is when you can say the problem has been sorted. They will find it tough. At the same time if they can get us a good opening partnership, not always in terms of runs, if they play through 8-10 overs and don't give away wickets scoring even at four to five runs per over, we consider it a very good start because we know we have the batsmen who can make up for the deliveries lost in the first 10 overs," claimed the captain.