Data Check: Three charts that show how Dhoni and Kohli have made India a chasing superpower

In what is no longer a surprise, Virat Kohli scored another century to lead India to a six-wicket win against South Africa. On a batting friendly wicket at Durban in the first of the six-match One Day International series, the Indian captain scored 112, sharing a 189-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane (79) to help India chase down 270.

Kohli, without a doubt, is currently the best in the world when it comes to a chase. He takes after his predecessor, MS Dhoni, who is arguably the game’s best finisher in limited overs cricket.

Ever since Dhoni broke into the Indian team, they average nearly 231 in a winning chase, a number far above any of their competitors. Before that, India managed a meagre 201 while batting second.

Since 2005, India have more or less won more than 60% of their matches while chasing every year, with the exception of 2015 where they won only 44% of the games when batting second.

India have successfully chased down 300 or more 17 times. Thirteen of these chases have come since 2005, the year Dhoni announced his arrival in international cricket. Incidentally, the first of these was the wicketkeeper-batsman’s unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka in 2005.

More recently, India owns three of the top highest run chases in ODI history. A far cry from the team of the 1990s, that struggled under pressure. Now the Indian team seems to soak it in.

But perhaps what’s most emblematic of India’s finishing in the last decade is how Dhoni and Kohli have embraced the chase as captains.

As a team leader, Kohli averages a monolithic 91 while chasing down a target, while Dhoni scores nearly 50. That is by no means poor, even though he is dwarfed by his successor, given that he batted far lower down the order.

“When India is chasing, he’s the main man you need to get, ” said Faf Du Plessis refering to Kohli in the press conference after the Durban ODI.

The message is clear: no total is safe when Kohli is at the crease, with Dhoni soon to follow. Even if the opposition choose to bat first, India’s chase maestros are far and away the best in the business.