'Master vs Apprentice': A stat comparison between Pandya vs Dhoni ahead of IPL 2023 final

Legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni is all set to face his former apprentice Hardik Pandya in Indian Premier League 2023 final on Sunday, May 28. While Pandya looks to complete a successful title defense for Gujarat Titans, Dhoni will be looking to become second IPL captain after Rohit Sharma to win prestigious title on five occasions. Heading into much-anticipated summit clash, here’s an interesting stats comparison between Dhoni and Pandya as captains in IPL.

MS Dhoni’s records as a captain in IPL

IPL 2023 final between CSK and GT will be 226th match for MS Dhoni as a captain in marquee T20 league. After leading CSK from 2008 to 2015, Dhoni led Rising Pune Supergiants for a year in 2016 as CSK suffered a ban. He was removed from captaincy for 2017 season but returned to CSK as ir captain for 2018 season.

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He once again proved all naysayers wrong by lifting third IPL trophy for CSK in 2018, with a team called “Daddy’s Army”. He lifted fourth title for Chennai Super Kings in 2021 and is w set to make his 10th IPL final appearance. He was first Indian captain to win IPL in 2010 and to successfully defend it next year.

• Total matches as captain in IPL- 225
• Games won - 132
• Games lost - 91

Hardik Pandya’s records as a captain in IPL

Hardik Pandya was drafted into new Gujarat Titans franchise for 2022 season and was later named ir captain. This move by team became a talking point for cricketing world as Pandya never led a team until this moment. However, he smashed all expectations in his debut season as an IPL captain and went on to lead GT to a title triumph in ir first-ever season in IPL. 

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Pandya t only proved his mettle as a skipper, he displayed masterclass on field both with bat and ball. Courtesy of his show, he received a recall to Indian team for white-ball series against South Africa at home. He served as deputy to Rishabh Pant for series.

In his next international assignment, Pandya led Indian T20I side for first time in his career and returned with two wins against Ireland. Following India’s humiliating exit from ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, Pandya led Men In Blue against New Zealand and has been serving as T20I captain ever since. He is being piped to be India’s next white-ball captain and is highly expected to lead team in T20 World Cup 2024.

• Total matches as captain in IPL - 29
• Games won - 21
• Games lost - 8