Eoin Morgan breaks MS Dhoni’s record of most number of sixes as captain

England captain Eoin Morgan was on a roll in the final ODI against Ireland at Ageas Bowl, Southampton. The southpaw cleared the fence on four occasions in his knock of 106 runs, which came off just 84 balls. In the process, Morgan also leapfrogged MS Dhoni’s record of most number of sixes as the captain of the side.

 

Morgan, who has a total of 328 International sixes to his name, has smashed 215 sixes as captain in 163 matches across formats. On the other hand, MS Dhoni had scored 211 sixes in 332 International matches as captain. Thus, Morgan took less than half the number of matches taken by Dhoni.

 

Overall, Dhoni has scored 359 sixes in his illustrious career. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting is third on the list as he scored 171 sixes in his career as captain whereas ex-New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum scored 170 sixes in his career as a leader.

 

Meanwhile, Ireland was able to stun World Champions England in the final match of the three-match series by seven wickets. England posted a competitive total of 328 runs after Eoin Morgan’s century and fifties from Tom Banton and David Willey.

 

However, Ireland were right up to task as veteran batsman Paul Stirling and skipper Andrew Balbirnie batted at the top of their game. Stirling scored a magnum opus knock of 142 runs off just 128 balls with the help of nine fours and six sixes. Balbirnie was also at his best as he scored a fine knock of 113 runs off 112 balls with the help of a dozen fours.

 

Both the batsmen added a gargantuan alliance of 214 runs to help Ireland get close to the target. Kevin O’Brien and Harry Tector then added the finishing touches as they scored 21 and 29 runs respectively to get their team over the line.

 

Paul Stirling was awarded the Player of the match for his magnificent knock of 142 runs whereas David Willey was awarded the Player of the series as he impressed with both bat as well as the ball.