Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, Dhoni replacedDinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicket-keeper.[65] Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match that was marred by rain. Dhoni came to the crease when the team was struggling at 109/5 and as wickets kept falling around him, he played an aggressive innings and was the last man dismissed.[66] Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second Test and his quick scoring rate (half century came off 51 balls) aided India to set a target of 436 and the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 247.[67]
India toured Pakistan in January-February 2006 and Dhoni scored his maiden century in the second Test at Faisalabad. India were left in a tight spot as Dhoni was joined by Irfan Pathan with the team still 107 away from avoiding follow-on. Dhoni played his typical aggressive innings as he brought up his maiden Test hundred in just 93 balls after scoring the first fifty in just 34 deliveries.[68]
Dhoni followed the century with some prosaic batting performances over the next three matches, one against Pakistan that India lost and two against England that had India holding a 1–0 lead. Dhoni was the top scorer in India's first innings in the third Test at Wankhede Stadium as his 64 aided India post a respectable 279 in reply to England's 400. However Dhoni and the Indian fielders dropped catches and missed many dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of Andrew Flintoff (14).[69] Dhoni failed to collect theHarbhajan Singh delivery cleanly as Flintoff went on to make 36 more runs as England set a target of 313 for the home team, a target that India were never in the reckoning. A batting collapse saw the team being dismissed for 100 and Dhoni scored just 5 runs and faced criticism for his wicket-keeping lapses as well as his shot selections.
On the West Indies tour in 2006, Dhoni scored a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test atAntigua. The rest of the series was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings but his wicket-keeping skills improved and he finished the series with 13 catches and 4 stumpings. In the Test series in South Africa later that year, Dhoni's scores of 34 and 47 were not sufficient to save the second Test against the Proteas as India lost the series 2–1, squandering the chance to build on their first ever Test victory in South Africa (achieved in the first Test match). Dhoni's bruised hands ruled him out of the third Test match.[70]
On the fourth day of the first Test match at Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua during India's tour of West Indies, 2006, Dhoni's flick off Dave Mohammed to the midwicket region was caught by Daren Ganga. As the batsman started to walk back, captain Dravid declared the innings when confusion started as the umpires were not certain if the fielder stepped on the ropes and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's verdict. While the replays were inconclusive, the captain of the West Indies side, Brian Lara, wanted Dhoni to walk off based on the fielder's assertion of the catch. The impasse continued for more than 15 minutes and Lara's temper was on display with finger wagging against the umpires and snatching the ball from umpire Asad Rauf. Ultimately, Dhoni walked off and Dravid's declaration was effected but the game was delayed, and Lara's action was criticised by the commentators and former players. Lara was summoned by the match referee to give an explanation of his actions but he was not fined.[71]
Dhoni scored two centuries in Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009, a series of three matches in which he led India to a 2–0 victory. With this feat, India soared up to the number one position in Test cricket for the first time in history. India scored 726–9 (decl) in the third match of this series, which is their highest Test total ever.[72]
Test centuries:
| Test centuries | ||||||
| # | Runs | Match | Against | Stadium | City/Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 148 | 5 |  Pakistan | Iqbal Stadium | Faisalabad, Pakistan | 2006 |
| 2 | 110 | 38 |  Sri Lanka | Sardar Patel Stadium | Ahmedabad, India | 2009 |
| 3 | 100* | 40 | Sri Lanka | Brabourne Stadium | Mumbai, India | 2009 |
| 4 | 132* | 42 |  South Africa | Eden Gardens | Kolkata, India | 2010 |
| 5 | 144 | 63 |  West Indies | Eden Gardens | Kolkata, India | 2011 |
| 6 | 224 | 74 |  Australia | M.A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai, India | 2013 |
Man of the Match Awards:
S No Opponent Venue Season Match Performance 1 Mohali 2008 92 & 68* 2 M.A. Chidambaram Stadium 2013 224
Test records
- Dhoni's maiden century against Pakistan in Faisalabad (148) is the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. Only three centuries by two other wicket-keepers (Kamran Akmal and Adam Gilchrist – 2) were faster than Dhoni's 93 ball century.[99]
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India defeated Australia by 320 runs on 21 October 2008, biggest ever win in terms of runs for India.[100]
- Dhoni holds the record for most catches by an Indian player in an innings. He achieved this feat by taking six catches during the first innings of the third test against New Zealand in Wellington in April 2009.
- Dhoni also equalled Syed Kirmani's record for most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicket-keeper. Syed Kirmani has effected 6 dismissals (5 catches and 1 stumping) against New Zealand in 1976. Dhoni now has equalled that record for most dismissals with 6 dismissals (all 6 catches) against New Zealand in 2009.
- Dhoni currently ranks No. 1 in the all-time dismissals list by Indian wicket-keepers. Dhoni has now been involved in 248 dismissals. The following is the list of top five Indian wicket-keepers, in terms of all-time dismissals in test matches: Dhoni (248 dismissals), Syed Kirmani (198 dismissals), Kiran More (130 dismissals), Nayan Mongia (107 dismissals) and Farokh Engineer (82 dismissals).
- Dhoni is the second wicketkeeper to have effected 6 dismissals in an innings apart from a fifty in each innings of a Test match. Denis Lindsay had accomplished the feat for South Africa against Australia at Johannesburg in December 1966 — 69 & 182 and 6 catches + 2 catches.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India reached their highest test score of 726–9 (decl) during Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009. Their 2–0 victory in the series took them to the number 1 ranking in Test cricket for the first time in history.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India did not lose a test match until the first test versus South Africa in Nagpur in February 2010. As a captain, he holds a record for longest unbeaten run in tests from his debut, 11 tests (8 wins and 3 draws). This record crossed former Australian captain Warwick Armstrong's run of 10 unbeaten tests (8 wins, 2 draws) from debut. In Dhoni's streak, however, there was a period of injury in which Virender Sehwag led the side (for 3 draws). So India's unbeaten streak was for 14 tests, of which 11 were Dhoni's.[citation needed]
- However Dhoni's unbeaten streak of 11 Test matches ended during India's tour of England in 2011 and England also replaced India from No. 1 spot in ICC Test team rankings.
- Dhoni shares with Nayan Mongia the record of most dismissals (8) by an Indian wicket-keeper in a Test match (as of February 2013).[101]
- Dhoni holds the record of most dismissals (8 – 7 catches and 1 stumping) by an Indian wicket-keeper in a Test match which includes at least one stumping (as of Feb 2013).
- Dhoni holds the world record for most stumpings (12) in test wins as a captain (as of February 2013)[102]
- Dhoni’s 224 is the highest score by an Indian captain in Tests bettering Sachin Tendulkar’s 217 against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1999.
- Dhoni has registered the highest Test score by an Indian wicketkeeper. On 193, he beat a long-standing record of 192 held by Budhi Kunderan against England in 1964, also scored in Chennai.
- Dhoni has registered the highest score in Test history by a wicketkeeper-captain beating Englishman Alec Stewart’s 164 Vs South Africa in 1998
- Dhoni is the first Indian wicket keeper to complete 4,000 Test runs.
- Dhoni is the first wicketkeeper to score a double century in a single day.[103]
- Dhoni is the most successful Indian Test captain with 24 Test victories, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly’s record of 21 victories from 49 Tests.[79]
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