Cricket Statistics: MS Dhoni's Test Record as India Captain Away from Home

By leading India to victory over Alastair Cook's England in the second Test at Lord's, MS Dhoni captured just his sixth Test triumph away from home as captain. 

Against a nose-diving home side, that stunning victory to give India a 1-0 series lead has suddenly presented Dhoni with an opportunity to claim his most elusive prize: A major Test series victory outside of Indian borders. 

While the current skipper has led his team to series wins in Bangladesh, New Zealand and the West Indies, visits to England, Australia and South Africa have dealt heavy losses to Dhoni's India, severely hurting the perception of his skills as a leader and ability to disrupt the expected narrative. 

In Britain this time around, however, the Indian captain looks capable of steering his youthful side to a famous triumph, which—should it occur—would begin to address the vastly unbalanced record of Dhoni's Test captaincy.

	M	W	D	L	Win %
Home	30	21	6	3	70%
Away	25	6	8	11	24%

Interestingly, India's victory at Lord's now means Dhoni has secured Test victories in all but one of the nations he's visited as captain, with Australia now standing as the only country to have consistently denied the polarising leader. 

However, based on his record, capturing the Pataudi Trophy in England this summer will still prove to be a stern test for Dhoni despite the home side's lurch toward a crisis, given that he's never won more than a single Test in any country outside India.

Country	M	W	D	L	Win %
in Australia	3	0	0	3	0%
in Bangladesh	1	1	0	0	100%
in England	6	1	1	4	17%
in New Zealand	4	1	2	1	25%
in South Africa	5	1	2	2	20%
in Sri Lanka	3	1	1	1	33%
in West Indies	3	1	2	0	33%

Of course, the most criticised aspect of Dhoni's tenure has been the humiliations India have received under the current captain during visits to England and Australia.

In his last visit to English shores in 2011, Dhoni's men arrived with big reputations but were handed a truly horrific annihilation by Andrew Strauss' side, losing the series in a 4-0 whitewash that contained two innings defeats and another pair of losses by 319 and 196 runs. 

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

That disastrous trip was followed by an equally forgettable tour of Australia in 2011-12.

Enduring the difficulties of a transitional period and arriving horribly underprepared, Michael Clarke's side inflicted similar damage, handing Dhoni a pair of innings defeats and another loss by 122 runs (Dhoni missed the fourth Test in Adelaide after being suspended for a slow over rate in Perth).

Such trips have had a profound effect on India's statistical record away from home under Dhoni, resulting in a set of numbers that highlight the extremely contrasting performance of India at home and on tour.

Record	Home	Away
Highest Total For	726/9d	707
Highest Total Against	760/7d	710/7d
Lowest Total For	142	136
Lowest Total Against	159	105
Average 1st Innings Total For	447	324
Average 1st Innings Total Against	346	383
Average Wickets Per Match For	17.57	14.8
Average Wickets Per Match Against	13.30	17.36
Average Runs Per Wicket For	44.64	32.79
Average Runs Per Wicket Against	31.00	40.17

Yet, perhaps much of the criticism of Dhoni's captaincy—particularly his work away from home—can be attributed to higher-than-ever expectations for India's Test team.  

Given the BCCI's financial dominance of the game and the immense resources available to Indian cricket, Dhoni has been expected to deliver unrelenting success in a way that many of his predecessors have not.

Ritam Banerjee/Getty Images

Additionally, the capture of the 2007 World Twenty20, the No. 1 Test ranking in 2009, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy has seen the current skipper steer India through one of the nation's most successful periods, only further heightening the realm of possibilities for Dhoni's leadership.

Thus, the captain's failures away from home have become more notable due to his own success—a point which is reinforced by his Test record outside India among his nation's notable captains throughout history. 

Captain	M	W	D	L	Win %
Sourav Ganguly	28	11	7	10	39%
Rahul Dravid	17	5	8	4	29%
MS Dhoni	25	6	8	11	24%
Nawab of Pataudi	13	3	0	10	23%
Bishan Bedi	14	3	3	8	21%
Kapil Dev	14	2	9	3	14%
Sunil Gavaskar	18	2	10	6	11%
Mohammad Azharuddin	27	1	16	10	4%
Sachin Tendulkar	13	0	7	6	0%

As shown in the table above, only Sourav Ganguly has claimed more Test victories away from home as India's captain, while only Ganguly and Rahul Dravid have captured their victories at a better rate than Dhoni.

However, perhaps also hurting the perception of the current leader is his record with the bat away from home as captain.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

As an unorthodox and self-taught keeper-batsman, Dhoni has been unable to lead through his own personal example in the way those before him have.

Whereas Ganguly (Test average of 43.41 away from home as Indian captain), Dravid (46.88) and Sachin Tendulkar (54.90) were able to dictate Tests through their own personal performance, Dhoni's success as skipper has hinged upon the excellence of others, coupled with his own leadership in the field when behind the stumps. 

	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Home	30	43	1,863	224	51.75	5	10
Away	25	43	1,287	90	32.17	0	11

Currently 1-0 up with three Tests still to play against England, however, Dhoni has the chance to deliver his nation's first series victory away from home over one of cricket's powerhouses in seven years. 

If he's able to do so, his captaincy record will take on a whole new complexion. 

All statistics courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.