India vs South Africa, 1st T20: Another record beckons for imperious Mahendra Singh Dhoni

New Delhi: Imperious Mahendra Singh Dhoni will become the first captain to play 50 times in the Twenty20 Internationals when India take on South Africa in the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series opener against South Africa at Dharamsala on Friday.

Since making his T20 International on December 01, 2006, against the Proteas, MS Dhoni has led India 50 times in the shortest format of the game, with one match abandoned.

India's match against Scotland in the 2007 World Twenty20 was abandoned, after MS Dhoni won the toss, due to persistent rain at Durban on September 13, 2007. It was also supposed to be India's second T20 match.

In the 49 matches that India have so far played under MS Dhoni's leadership, Men in Blues won 26 matches and lost 21 times. The 34-year-old won his first World Cup title in this format, in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

In the list, Ireland’s William Porterfield (41) and West Indies’ Darren Sammy (39) are second and third respectively.

South Africa are in India for their longest ever tour for a three-match T20, five-match ODI and four-match Test series. The series has been aptly dubbed Freedom Series.