MS Dhoni - The most successful captain of India [Archive]

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Kalyasi

4th July 2008, 08:43 PM

Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MS Dhoni pronunciation(Hindi:महेन्द्र सिंह धोनी) (born July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand) is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian Twenty20 and ODI team. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and CB Series of 2007-8.

Dhoni is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is one of the wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team - Parthiv Patel, Ajay Ratra and Dinesh Karthik being the others. Dhoni, referred to as 'Mahi' by his friends, debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to Kenya in 2004. Along with Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.

Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan in his fifth ODI match in 2005 - then the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. Later in the year, he broke his own record as well as set the current world record for the highest score in the second innings in ODI matches as he scored 183* against Sri Lanka. Dhoni's success in the limited overs format secured him a place in the test team and coincidentally he made his maiden test century in his fifth Test match, when he scored 148 against Pakistan. Consistent performances in ODI cricket through the end of the 2005/06 season saw Dhoni ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the ICC ODI ratings briefly.

Dhoni's form dipped through 2006 as India lost matches at the ICC Champions trophy, DLF Cup, away bilateral series against West Indies and South Africa. A return to form in the home series against West Indies and SriLanka in early 2007 proved to be an inaccurate indicator of Dhoni's form as India crashed out of the first round in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni was out for duck in both India's losses. After the World Cup, Dhoni won the Man of the series award in the bilateral ODI tournament against Bangladesh. For the tour of England, Dhoni was named the ODI team vice-captain.

A batter, Dhoni has shown the maturity to restrain his aggressive nature and play a responsible innings when the situation requires. Apart from traditional shots, Dhoni has two very unorthodox but effective cricket strokes. Since his entry into the Indian cricket team, Dhoni's aggressive batting style, success on the field, personality, and long hair have made him one of the most marketable cricketers in India.

Personal life

Dhoni was born in (Almora) Uttarakhand[citation needed].His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Pan Singh and Devaki Dev, Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in Mecon. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra. Dhoni had long hair which he has now shortened; he cut it because he wanted to look like his favourite film star John Abraham. Dhoni is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Domestic career

Junior cricket

Dhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998/99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) and Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of the 1999-2000 Cooch Behar Trophy where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357. Bihar's efforts were dwarfed by Punjab U-19's 839 with Dhoni's future national squad teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358. Dhoni's contribution for the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches and 7 stumpings. MS Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs in four matches as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.

Bihar team

Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999-2000 season as an eighteen year old. He made a half century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against Assam cricket team. Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century against Bengal in the 2000/01 season in a losing cause. Apart from the century, his performance in the 2000/01 did not include another score over fifty and in 2001/02 season he scored just five fifty in each season in four Ranji matches. Dhoni's performance for the 2002/03 season in the Ranji Trophy included three half centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy competition as he started winning recognition for his lower-order run contribution as well as hard hitting batting style.

In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI trophy. He was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy for the year and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East zone.[16] He scored a fighting half century in the second innings in a losing cause.

Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Ranchi, where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995 - 1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well. Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.

Dhoni was voted as MTV Youth Icon 2006 and he also joins cricketers Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in winning the award. He is the amazing icon of the Pogo TV amazing kids awards.

India A team

He was recognized for his efforts in the 2003/04 season, especially in the ODI format and was picked for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match. In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Dhoni helped India 'A' chase their target of 223 against Pakistan 'A' with an half-century. Stressing on his performance, he scored back to back centuries - 120 and 119* against the same squad. Dhoni scored 362 runs in 7 matches (6 innings, Ave:72.40), and his performance in the series received attention from the then captain - Sourav Ganguly amongst others. However, the India 'A' team coach Sandeep Patil recommended Karthik for a place in the Indian squad as wicket-keeper/batsman.

ODI career

The Indian team in the 2000s saw the use of Rahul Dravid as the wicket-keeper to ensure that the wicket-keeper spot didn't lack in batting talent. The Indian cricket establishment also saw the entry of wicket-keeper/batsmen from the junior ranks with talents like Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik - both India U-19 Captains in the test squads. With Dhoni making a mark in the India-A squad, he was picked in the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. Dhoni did not have a great start to his ODI career, getting run out for a duck on debut. In spite of an average series against Bangladesh, Dhoni was picked for the Pakistan ODI series. In the second match of the series, Dhoni in his fifth one-day international, scored 148 in Vishakapatnam off only 123 deliveries. Dhoni's 148 erased the earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper,[28] a record that he would re-write before the end of the year.

Dhoni had few batting opportunities in the first two games of the Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series (October-November 2005) and was promoted to No. 3 in the third ODI at Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur). Sri Lanka had set India a target of 299 after a Kumar Sangakkara century and in reply. India lost Tendulkar early. Dhoni was promoted to accelerate the scoring and ended the game with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls, winning the game for India - an innings described in Wisden Almanack (2006) as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'. The innings set various records including the highest score in ODI cricket in the second innings, a record that still stands. Dhoni ended the series with the highest run aggregate (346) and was awarded the Man of the series award for his efforts. In December 2005, Dhoni was signed by BCCI to a B-grade contract, skipping the initial C-grade level due to his performance on the cricketing field.

India scored 328 in 50 overs with Dhoni contributing 68 in their first match of 2006 against Pakistan. However the team finished poorly, scoring just 43 runs in the last eight overs and lost the match due to Duckworth-Lewis method. In the third match of the series, Dhoni came in with India in a precarious situation and scored 72 runs off just 46 balls that included 13 boundaries to help India take a 2-1 lead in the series. The final match of the series had a repeat performance as Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls to enable India win the series 4-1. In recognition of his consistent ODI performances, Dhoni overtook Ricky Ponting as number one in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen on April 20, 2006. His reign lasted just a week as Adam Gilchrist's performance against Bangladesh moved him to the top spot.

Two canceled series in Sri Lanka, one due to the withdrawal of South Africa from the Unitech Cup due to security concerns and the replacement 3-match ODI bilateral series against Sri Lanka washed due to rain, was India's prelude to another disappointing tournament - DLF Cup 2006-07. Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. India's lack of preparation showed in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy as they lost to West Indies and Australia, though Dhoni scored an half-century against West Indies. The story of the ODI series in South Africa was the same for both Dhoni and India as Dhoni scored 139 runs in 4 matches and India lost the series 4-0. From the start of the WI ODI series, Dhoni had played 16 matches, hit just two fifties and averaged 25.93. Dhoni received criticism on his wicket keeping technique from former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani.

Preparations for the 2007 Cricket World Cup improved as India recorded identical 3-1 victories over West Indies and Sri Lanka and Dhoni had averages in excess of 100 in both these series. However, India unexpectedly crashed out the World Cup after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Dhoni was out for a duck in both these matches and scored 29 runs in the whole tournament. Dhoni put behind his disappointment in the World cup by scoring 91* against Bangladesh after India were left in a tight spot earlier in the run-chase. Dhoni was declared the man of the match for his performance, his fourth in ODI cricket. He was also later adjudged the man of the series after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni had a good Afro-Asia Cup, getting 174 runs in 3 matches at an average of 87.00, with a blitzkrieg 139 not out of 97 balls, a Man Of The Match innings, in the 3rd ODI.

Dhoni was nominated as the vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent India-England 7-match ODI series. Dhoni, who received a 'B' grade contract in December 2005, was awarded an 'A' grade contract in June 2007. And also he was elected as captain of Indian Twenty-20 Cricket Team for the World Twenty20 in September 2007. On 2 September 2007 Mahendra Singh Dhoni equalled his idol Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching 5 English players and stumping one. He led India to the ICC World Twenty 20 trophy in South Africa with a victory over arch rivals Pakistan in an intensely fought final on 24 September 2007, and became the second Indian captain to have won a World cup in any form of cricket, after Kapil Dev.

Test career

Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, Dhoni replaced Dinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicket-keeper. Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match that was marred by rain. Dhoni came to the crease when the team was struggling at 109/5 and as wickets kept falling around him, he played an aggressive innings and was the last man dismissed. Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second Test and his quick scoring rate (half century came off 51 balls) aided India to set a target of 436 and the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 247.

India toured Pakistan in January/February 2006 and Dhoni scored his maiden century in the second Test at Faisalabad. India were left in a tight spot as Dhoni was joined by Irfan Pathan with the team still 107 away from avoiding follow-on. Dhoni played his typical aggressive innings as he scored his maiden test century in just 93 balls after scoring his first fifty in just 34 deliveries.

Dhoni followed his maiden test century with some prosaic batting performances over the next three matches, one against Pakistan that India lost and two against England that had India holding a 1-0 lead going into the test match. Dhoni was the top scorer in India's first innings in the third test at Wankhede Stadium as his 64 aided India post a respectable 279 in reply to England's 400. However Dhoni and the Indian fielders dropped too many catches and missed many dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of Andrew Flintoff (14). Dhoni failed to collect the Harbhajan Singh delivery cleanly as Flintoff went on to make 36 more runs as England set a target of 313 for the home team, a target that India were never in the reckoning. A batting collapse saw the team being dismissed for 100 and Dhoni scored just 5 runs and faced criticism for his wicket-keeping lapses as well as his shot selections.

On the West Indies tour, Dhoni scored a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test at Antigua. The rest of the series was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings but his wicket-keeping skills improved and Dhoni finished the series with 13 catches and 4 stumpings. In the test series in South Africa, Dhoni's scores of 34 and 47 were not sufficient to save the second test against the Proteas as India lost the test series 2-1, squandering the chance to build on their first ever Test victory in South Africa (achieved in the first Test match). Dhoni's bruised hands ruled him out of the third test match.

Indian Premier League

M.S.Dhoni was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 Million USD. This made him the most expensive player in the IPL Auctions which was closely followed by Andrew Symonds. Dhoni is the present captain of the Chennai Super Kings team. Dhoni's Team ended as runners in IPL 2008

Controversies

Walk-off: On the fourth day of the first test match at Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua during India's tour of West Indies, 2006, Dhoni's flick off Dave Mohammed to the midwicket region was caught by Daren Ganga. As the batsman started to walk back, captain Dravid declared the innings when confusion started as the umpires were not certain if the fielder stepped on the ropes and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's verdict. While the replays were inconclusive, the captain of the West Indies side, Brian Lara, wanted Dhoni to walk-off based on the fielder's assertion of the catch. The impasse continued for more than 15 minutes and Lara's temper was on display with finger wagging against the umpires and snatching the ball from umpire Asad Rauf. Ultimately, Dhoni walked-off and Dravid's declaration was effected but the game was delayed, and Lara's action was criticized by the commentators and former players. Lara was called by the match referee for explanation of his actions but was not fined by the match referee.

Home Vandalized: After the loss to Bangladesh in 2007 Cricket World Cup, the house that Dhoni was constructing in his home-town Ranchi was vandalized and damaged by political activists of JMM. The local police arranged for security for his family as India exited the World cup in the first round.

<img src = "http://www.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/80100/80109.jpg">

selvakumar

4th July 2008, 09:58 PM

:lol2:

directhit

5th July 2008, 01:54 PM

:bow: :bow: :bow: :P

wrap07

5th July 2008, 02:13 PM

:D :P

MADDY

5th July 2008, 04:33 PM

i have been a Dhoni fan ever since his 148 in 2005 series vs pakistan................he is a very cool person unfazed by all rubbish poured on him............best thing abt him is his captaincy - one of the greatest resource managers........he is so cool and balanced - dosent let pressure seep into the team........he smiled at a juncture where 1 run was reqd off 1 ball in IPL final - thats Dhoni for u......

he is only the second Indian captain to win a world cup in any form........he is only the second indian captain to win a tournament in australia......he is destined to achieve a lot...... :D

P.S: kalyan, request to modify the thread title, namakku yen mumbai IPL team player name in thread title :P - jharkand jhambavan or something similar wud be great :P

ajithfederer

7th July 2008, 04:05 AM

Birthday wishes to the Indian captain dhoni :)

MADDY

7th July 2008, 07:11 AM

Happy borthday to Dhoni :)

i think he needs to bring his boys down to earth a bit - if 2 consecutive final defeats havent :)

littlemaster1982

7th July 2008, 08:01 AM

Many More Happy Returns of the Day to Dhoni :D

Kalyasi

7th July 2008, 10:58 AM

Many More Happy Returns of the Day Dhoni!!!

wrap07

8th July 2008, 02:42 PM

Dhoni has decided to skip the series in lanka. This is a good slap on the face of BCCI when they asked players who are tired to take rest. Our players out of insecurity and resultant things, always play themselves even if they are half fit and then present a sorry picture. When the fittest player in the team is feeling exhausted, we can imagine the status of others. For BCCI, only present matters not the future. so much for planning.

sriranga

9th July 2008, 12:15 PM

Belated B'day wishes to Captain Cool.

BCCI has recommended Dhoni for Rajiv Gandhi khel Ratna award. If he gets it, he will be the 2nd cricketer to get the award after sachin.

ajithfederer

10th July 2008, 07:52 AM

[tscii:404b39dc7c]http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/360416.html

Opinion | Siddhartha Vaidyanathan >>

A bold withdrawal

Dhoni pulling out of the Sri Lanka Test series is significant for a number of reasons

June 9, 2008

I'll sit this one out: Dhoni has been honest about wanting a break, aware of the risks his decision entails © AFP

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to volunteer out of India's Test series against Sri Lanka - it is understood that he will be back to lead India in the one-dayers that follow - will raise an obvious question. Why the Test series? Could he have not skipped the Asia Cup and the tri-series in Bangladesh instead? Is this a sign of the times?

Seen in another light, it's a decision that can be hailed as pragmatic and brave. As the captain of a young team, Dhoni is the most important member of the one-day side. He is more dispensable in India's Test team, which has the world's most experienced batting line-up.

Having said that, he needed the rest. He has been running on empty for a few months, though he's shown little sign of it, and it's a wonder he has carried on for as long as he has without buckling. It's been a 18-month streak that's included 14 Tests, 56 ODIs, eight Twenty20 internationals, and a high-voltage IPL.

Everyone acknowledges the threat posed by player burnout but solutions are rarely offered. Players complain of too much cricket, administrators cram the schedules with cricket, players push their bodies to the limit, administrators cram schedules, players break down, and administrators continue to cram schedules. "The only time we get rest is when we get injured," chuckled an Indian fast bowler recently.

In the last 15 years, opting out of a series has been the sole preserve of only one Indian cricketer. And he always had the comfort of knowing he could walk back into the side at any point. If Sachin Tendulkar says he's fit - irrespective of what the physio thinks - he plays. Dhoni's Test future isn't set in stone, not by a long way. He is yet to play a match-winning knock and he has thus far been more a sidekick backing up the superheroes ahead of him. As a wicketkeeper he's probably just a shade better than the competition. His Test form has been scratchy recently, and it can be argued that he is taking a risk by allowing another wicketkeeper the chance to show his wares.

And yet, at a time when cricketers dread being away from the limelight, in a country where public memory is terribly short, Dhoni is sitting out. Instead of flogging his body and risking a major injury, he's chosen to stop and recharge. Most importantly, he has been honest. He wasn't going to play the IPL and discover an injury immediately after; he wasn't going to suddenly develop a "personal problem"; he wasn't going to be part of the side and allow his fatigue to hamper his performance. In withdrawing, he has made a loud statement.

It's not been a bolt from the blue. In mid-March, a week before the home series against South Africa, Dhoni was genuinely contemplating sitting out. His back had taken a serious beating during the CB Series in Australia and his fingers were visibly bruised. It was also pretty apparent that the administrators weren't entirely convinced about his fitness - he was not in the initial list of players summoned to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore but was asked to undertake a fitness test in the last minute.

Is Dhoni's decision an indicator of players' new priorities? Is there too much of a disparity between the rewards on offer for Twenty20 and Test cricket? Do cricketers need to start choosing which of the three formats they want to concentrate on?

Once he chose to play all three Tests, including the final one where he captained India to a series-levelling win, there was no way out. There was simply too much at stake in the IPL (especially after he was valued at US$1.5 million), and the selectors didn't see the need to name a replacement wicketkeeper for the two one-day series that followed. He could have probably chosen to sit out of one of them (if not both) but the challenge of captaincy may have prompted him to play on. Yet, throughout this period he, as well as Gary Kirsten, have talked about the demands on his body. He hasn't shirked the question in press conferences and even clearly hinted that he might pull out after the Asia Cup.

While there's a hope that other players will pick up the baton, and take time off judiciously in future, it is quite likely that this will be a one-off. Cricketers not possessed of Dhoni's stature can't quite risk taking such daring decisions. His future in the shorter formats is secure and so colossal is his brand that he can afford to stay away for a while. Had he not been one-day captain, it's tough to imagine him taking such a step. One only hopes the board and the selectors get the message and adopt a rotation policy in the future.

Apart from reaffirming the dangers of burnout, Dhoni's decision raises several questions. Is it an indicator of players' new priorities? Is there too much of a disparity between the rewards on offer for Twenty20 and Test cricket? Do cricketers need to start choosing which of the three formats they want to concentrate on? Shouldn't a Test series get precedence over a Future Cup in Madagascar? Dhoni might have opened a Pandora's box but he will be relieved that, for a few weeks at least, he won't need to live out of suitcases.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

© Cricinfo[/tscii:404b39dc7c]

CEDYBLUE

10th July 2008, 03:14 PM

wow awesome thread! spotted a bit late i guess! good work kal!

Kalyasi

10th July 2008, 03:23 PM

wow awesome thread! spotted a bit late i guess! good work kal!

Contributions needed from everywhere to grow this thread.... I thought of starting it coz I felt that Dhoni is gr8 in his own ways.... But seeing Sachin thread nearing 100 pages easily(thro Efforts of Stan), I realise that Legends are always Legends... You always have so many articles to post about sachin...

crajkumar_be

10th July 2008, 03:30 PM

I have to admit that after seeing T20 final, my respett for Dhoni increased... (freakin irritating to see the unabashed bias against Chennai from all sections outside TN in the s/f and final)

Kalyasi

10th July 2008, 03:33 PM

I have to admit that after seeing T20 final, my respett for Dhoni increased... (freakin irritating to see the unabashed bias against Chennai from all sections outside TN in the s/f and final)

Amaidhi Ponga Dhoni Admirer aagi Koodiya Viravil Dhoni Fan aaga Maara Enathu Vazhthukal!!!

Kalyasi

10th July 2008, 03:34 PM

Yea... Enga thread 2 page vanthuruchu!!!

:redjump: :bluejump: :bluejump: :redjump:

Thirumaran

10th July 2008, 03:56 PM

I have to admit that after seeing T20 final, my respett for Dhoni increased...

Same here :P

mgb

10th July 2008, 03:59 PM

Peter Roebuck wrote during the Tri series "Dhoni had grabbed his opponents by what President Nixon was once pleased to call 'the short and curlies' and did not mean to let go... Clearly the Indians have learnt how to handle these opponents. It is not a matter of words or gestures but conviction."

CEDYBLUE

4th August 2008, 05:00 PM

KAL is dat true that Dhoni has won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.....

Kalyasi

4th August 2008, 06:54 PM

[tscii:759539fbd0]Dhoni to receive Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Cricinfo staff

August 4, 2008

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's one-day and Twenty20 captain, has been chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country's highest honour for a sportsperson. He is the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to receive the award. Dhoni led India to victory in the World Twenty20 in South Africa last year and the tri-series in Australia in 2008.

"We are very happy. He has represented the country with distinction, and deserves the honour," Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, said. "His exemplary leadership and demeanour under pressure, especially in the Twenty20 World Cup and the tri-series in Australia, has made him an ideal role model for millions of young Indians who want to make a mark in life."

BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said what impressed him most about Dhoni was the way he conducted himself. "What I like most about him, apart from his cricket, is the way he leads," Shetty said. "He is a cool customer and never gets agitated. He displays clarity of thought and speaks his mind even if it may not be seen in the right sense."

An official announcement would follow after August 20.

© Cricinfo

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/363641.html

PS - Thanks Cedy!!!

Vaazga Dhoni Valarga Avarathu Pugazh!![/tscii:759539fbd0]

Kalyasi

4th August 2008, 06:56 PM

[tscii:ca420429b8]MS Dhoni to be conferred Khel Ratna

New Delhi: India's One-Day and Twenty20 cricket captain MS Dhoni will be awarded the country's highest sporting honour — the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

A committee chaired by former sprinter Milkha Singh on Monday met to discuss the nominees and they decided to confer the award on Dhoni for leading India to the Twenty20 World Cup triumph, which was followed by a tri-series victory in Australia.

Sources in the Sports Ministry, however, informed that an official announcement would follow only after August 20.

Dhoni becomes only the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to be given the honour. Tendulkar won the award in 1997-98.

There had been speculation that the BCCI hadn't sent Dhoni's form in time but that issue was resolved. But BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty hailed the decision.

"On two occasions, we felt let down when Rahul Dravid didn't get Khel Ratna and Yuvraj (Singh) was denied Arjuna. Dravid was in good form, we had won 16 ODIs on the trot and the team was on a high. But he did not get the award.

"Yuvraj too was unlucky not to get Arjuna after two years of consistent performances. We are happy Dhoni got it," he told Times Now.

Twenty-seven-year-old Dhoni took over as India's One-day captain after Rahul Dravid resigned in 2007.

Shetty said what impressed him most about Dhoni was the way he conducted himself.

"What I like most about Mahi, apart from his cricket, is the way he leads. He is a cool customer and never gets agitated. I'm also impressed by his clarity of thought. He speaks his mind even if it may not be seen in the right sense," he added.

BCCI chief Sharad Pawar said Dhoni was a role model and deserved to win the prestigious award.

"We are very happy. He has represented the country with distinction, and deserves the honour. His exemplary leadership and demeanour under pressure, especially in the ICC World Twenty20 and the tri-series in Australia, mark him out as the ideal role-model for millions of young Indians, who want to make a mark in life," said Pawar.

Among other prominent sportspersons to have won the honour are Vishwanathan Anand (chess), Leander Paes (tennis), Geet Sethi (billiards), Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (shooting) and Dhanraj Pillay (hockey).

http://www.cricketnext.com/news/ms-dhoni-to-be-conferred-khel-ratna/33298-13.html[/tscii:ca420429b8]

CEDYBLUE

5th August 2008, 08:56 AM

Only the second cricketer after the little master.......tells u something about the man's commitment to Indian Cricket! many congratulations MSD!:D

Looking forward to watching MSD captain India and win the ODI series against Sri Lanka and the Champions trophy!

directhit

5th August 2008, 11:38 AM

:bow: :bow: :bow: Captain courageous MSD Vaazhga :thumbsup:
fanclub pudhu members CR and TM - enjoy ur stay :wink:

P_R

5th August 2008, 11:45 AM

What is the Khel Ratna about ?
When it was instituted I thought it was like a super-Arjuna award. i.e. the real cream with some lifetime achievement weight thrown in.
As against flavour of the season.

Sachin, Anand, Dhanraj Pillay, Geeth Sethi all seemed to validate this understanding.

Rathore was more like flavour of the season.

Now Dhoni confuses me :confused2:

Sanguine Sridhar

5th August 2008, 02:59 PM

[tscii:edf2d8d857]Honestly, In India none of the cricketer has performed well after Sachin [Sourav came close but not close enough!]. So saying, I won’t accept that Dhoni is as good as Sachin but he looks to be an efficient, confident leader. His leadership in T20 is definitely noteworthy. He brought T20 world cup [World cup is world cup, who cares its 50 Overs or 20 Overs?] to India immediately after 50 overs world cup shame. He encouraged young talent and brought honors to the nation. Moreover he is young and this honor will motivate him. Dhoni deserves this award! 8-) [/tscii:edf2d8d857]

Kalyasi

5th August 2008, 03:06 PM

[tscii:7a663dd3a6]Honestly, In India none of the cricketer has performed well after Sachin [Sourav came close but not close enough!]. So saying, I won’t accept that Dhoni is as good as Sachin but he looks to be an efficient, confident leader. His leadership in T20 is definitely noteworthy. He brought T20 world cup [World cup is world cup, who cares its 50 Overs or 20 Overs?] to India immediately after 50 overs world cup shame. He encouraged young talent and brought honors to the nation. Moreover he is young and this honor will motivate him. Dhoni deserves this award! 8-) [/tscii:7a663dd3a6]

:exactly: and also Dravid should have been given this award when he was at the peak of his career.... He was the cause for many overseas test victories for India after 2001!!!

wrap07

5th August 2008, 04:52 PM

Sanguine Sridhar

5th August 2008, 05:05 PM

You are right Kalyasi! I missed Dravid, how can I? :(

mgb

5th August 2008, 07:05 PM

Dravid was nominated for 'khel ratna' by BCCI twice but he was not selected. I think in one of the years when he was nominated the award went to cueist Pankaj Advani :|

CEDYBLUE

6th August 2008, 11:34 AM

kalyasi :clap:

Though Dravid's current form and style of play leaves a lot to be desired and looks like he is past his prime, i had always thought Dravid had contributed immensely for team cause and he was mostly unsung hero. His style may not be attractive but technically immaculate and as good as text book of test batting. 8-)

Dravid! the ultimate team player!!!!

he helped India fashion victories in Australia, Pakistan d England.....and his commitment to India's cause is total! he even took up wicketkeeping in ODIs jus to accomodate an extra batsman in the line up! complete commitment....great player!

directhit

23rd August 2008, 11:43 AM

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1975/dhoniok1.jpg

directhit

25th August 2008, 07:41 AM

Playing the lead to perfection
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has adapted his game superbly to the needs of his team over the last couple of years and it was again evident in a bristling 76 that helped leave India a win away from their first ODI series triumph in Sri Lanka. On a tough tour like this, India needed their captain to get into some sort of form to lift their spirits. Dhoni delivered, with a different yet no less effective approach.

Coming in with India at 91 for 4 in the 22nd over after another failure by the middle order, Dhoni knuckled down, didn't take any risks, ran like a hare, and finished with a match-winning effort. From the start, his primary focus was on survival. He had to make do with what he had, and had to make it work. Not being a natural cutter and puller, he had to graft for his runs, but showed he was up for the challenge.

Dhoni has said before that the more batsmen faced Ajantha Mendis the more they could establish some sort of command over him. Having faced him twice in three days, handling him well the second time in Dambulla, Dhoni went out to the middle and began in earnest.

Crouched, bat coming down repeatedly, Mendis was watched until the ball spat off the track, and then, with a huge stride, pushed it gently onto the off side. When Mendis once erred in line, Dhoni's bat flashed the ball away for four. "Till now Mendis was never under any pressure and was bowling at his best," Dhoni said. "You need to punish him if he bowls a bad ball. If you continue to defend him, he will always be on top."

There was turn in the track but Dhoni's footwork was positive and he carried an intent that suggested he wanted to give it back to Sri Lanka. He drove the ball handsomely while also showing ingenuity in finding the gaps, and displayed great application in hanging in to make sure that India would reach a good score despite the regular fall of wickets. In Suresh Raina, whose promising knock was kept down to 53 after a bizarre call for a single ran him out, and Rohit Sharma, Dhoni found adequate support.

In his first couple of years in international cricket, Dhoni would usually attack the bowling regardless of the match scenario, scoring at nearly a run a ball. But he has since altered his method; he now scores runs with greater precision and care. Dhoni doesn't hit as many boundaries, but still gets them at a brisk rate, and while his reputation as a finisher is well known, he's now started, as captain, to play smart innings with an eye on the result.

"I'm giving myself a chance," Dhoni said. "I had a different role when I started playing international cricket, batting at a different slot. We had players to play long innings but I was one of those to go out and accelerate and even if I got out, it was okay. There was a transformation, and in the last two years I've been under a little pressure to be more responsible. That's what I'm doing, and I've got a strike rate of nearly 90."

Once Dhoni crossed fifty, he upped the tempo with consecutive boundaries off Muttiah Muralitharan, who went wicketless. A single-run, double-wicket over from Mendis in the 49th took the sheen over how well India had handled him for nine overs. A competitive total was ensured when India passed 220 and Dhoni's effort went a long way in India winning the game.

It wasn't an easy win. India had Sri Lanka at 59 for 6 but allowed them to get within striking distance, dropping five catches along the way. The top order blues continued, but Dhoni showed the way admirably.

"If there's commitment, that's victory for me," he said earlier this year when asked about leading a bunch of young players. When they get it right India are a treat to watch, but this team often hangs back when you most expect them to sting. Dhoni must now focus on getting the message through to his embattled batting order.

http://content-eap.cricinfo.com/slvind/content/current/story/366145.html

CEDYBLUE

26th August 2008, 10:54 AM

these three matches have jus showed how much we missed MSD in the test series!

MADDY

26th August 2008, 03:08 PM

these three matches have jus showed how much we missed MSD in the test series!

:exactly:

even Dinesh karthik+ parthiv are not equal to dhoni 8-) ....hope everyone realises this :)

Kalyasi

27th August 2008, 12:51 PM

these three matches have jus showed how much we missed MSD in the test series!

:exactly:

even Dinesh karthik+ parthiv are not equal to dhoni 8-) ....hope everyone realises this :)

Its for everyone who keep saying DKD is better than Dhoni ....

wrap07

27th August 2008, 10:40 PM

Dhoni :clap:

for his runs and leadership. Sweet victory after the test fiasco.

MADDY

28th August 2008, 08:08 AM

T20 world cup
series win in autralia after 22 yrs
and now, first ever ODI series victory in SL 8-)

MSD is 'the' captain 8-)

omega

28th August 2008, 04:15 PM

series win in autralia after 22 yrs
and now, first ever ODI series victory in SL 8-)

MSD is 'the' captain 8-)

Yes, ethanayo petha petha captainslaam muyarchi seithu mudiyaathatha, annan romba saathaaranama oothi thalluraaru......Hope he continues for a long time being victorious.

wrap07

28th August 2008, 09:56 PM

Dhoni is ranked No1 in ODI ranking replacing G Smith.

directhit

3rd September 2008, 06:32 AM

Dhoni ready for Test captaincy: Kirsten :smokesmirk: :smokesmirk:

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/sep/02dhoni.htm

directhit

4th September 2008, 08:07 AM

Kumble should pave way for Dhoni, says Akram

Anil Kumble has rendered a yeoman service to the Indian cricket team but it's time for the seasoned leg-spinner to quit and pass the Test captaincy to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, feels former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram.

After India coach Gary Kirsten said that Dhoni is ready for Test captaincy, Akram echoed the view and said Kumble should quit at the top of his form, passing over the Test captaincy to Dhoni.

"I respect Anil for what he has achieved. He has done enough for India and I think it's time for him to take a bow at a time when he is still counted as one of the best," Akram told Mobile ESPN.

Though Kirsten said Dhoni's anointment as Test captain should not be rushed, for Kumble was doing a fine job, Akram felt the veteran spinner should not prolong his retirement and call it quits at a time when he is still regarded among the best in the business.

"Dhoni is the man" to replace Kumble, said Akram.

Thoroughly impressed by Dhoni's leadership qualities, Akram pointed out India's string of good shows under the star stumper-batsman and also referred to how Dhoni remodelled himself from a hard-hitting batsman to a middle-order mainstay.

Akram in fact went on to say that Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik should take a leaf out of Dhoni's book and learn how to lead from the front.

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/sep/03akram.htm

CEDYBLUE

11th September 2008, 10:43 AM

Congrats Dhoni!

Dhoni, Yuvraj make India proud at ICC awards

Posted at Thursday, 11 September 2008 10:09 IST
Dubai, Sep 11: Indian ODI captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, earned laurels for the country as he bagged the ODI Player of the Year award at the annual ICC awards function here.

Another feather was added in the country's cap as ICC honoured the magical six sixes spell cast by Yuvraj Singh who won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award.

However, pacer Ishant Sharma missed out his award to Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Medis. Medis took the Emerging Player of the Year Award.

West Indies' Mr. Dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul was adjudged Cricketer of the Year after a fine performance in Tests as well limited over cricket while South African fast bowler Dale Steyn earned the Test Cricketer of the Year Award.

Dhoni bagged the trophy despite tough competition from team-mate Sachin Tendulkar, Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken and Pakistan stalwart Mohammad Yousuf.

Yuvraj was deservedly honoured for his stupendous six sixes in an over off Englishman Stuart Broad in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa last year.

On 19 September last during a Twenty20 World Championship match against England in Durban, Yuvraj smashed every delivery of the 19th over off England's Staurt Broad beyond the boundary rope, in the process registering a 12-ball half-century and putting his team on course for victory.

It was the first time a player had hit six sixes in a single Twenty20 International over. Herschelle Gibbs did it in an ODI during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies while Garry Sobers became the first batsman to achieve the feat during a first-class match back in 1968.

During the voting period, Dhoni played 39 ODIs and scored 1,298 runs at an average of 49.92 and at a rate of 82.46 runs per 100 balls faced. In that time, he hit a century and nine fifties making sure he led his team from the front.

Dhoni also effected 62 dismissals (46 catches and 16 stumpings) as wicketkeeper, which is almost twice as many as the next best, albeit having played more matches than any other keeper.

He is currently ranked number one in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.

Ryan ten Doeschate of the Netherlands won the ICC Associate Player of the Year award.

Sri Lanka Team bagged ICC Spirit of Cricket award for second year in row. Australia's Simon Taufel won fifth straight ICC Umpire of the Year award.

Tendulkar, however, found a place in the 12-man World ODI Team of the Year for the second year running, along with his captain Dhoni. Tendulkar was chosen along with Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa for the openers slot in the team led by Australia's Ricky Ponting who got the leadership position for second year in a row and named in the team for third year running.

The 12-man squad was chosen by a specially-appointed selection panel chaired by West Indian batting legend Clive Lloyd.

Virender Sehwag is the only Indian included in the 12-man World Test Team of the Year led by South African Graeme Smith.

In other awards, Simon Taufel of Australia won the Umpire of the Year Award for the fifth year in a row.

For the best cricketer award, Chanderpaul had to fight off tough competition from Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardena as well as South Africans Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn to become the fifth player to win the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

The West Indian crisis man follows the footsteps of India's Rahul Dravid (2004), Andrew Flintoff of England and South Africa s Jacques Kallis (joint winners in 2005) and Ricky Ponting of Australia (2006, 2007) to take the top award.

For the Test Player of the Year, Steyn beat off Chanderpaul, Jayawardene and Proteas team-mate Jacques Kallis to win the first ICC award of his career.

Kalyasi

11th September 2008, 08:53 PM

Congrats annan Dhoni!! Annanukku Jai!

directhit

22nd October 2008, 06:59 AM

There's something about Dhoni

There's something about Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His detractors call it luck, :evil: but whatever it is, it has worked. Twice this year, he has been told about half an hour before a Test that he will have to lead the side, and twice India have won comprehensively under him. If in Mohali, as he admitted, he was lucky to win the toss; in Kanpur, India won despite batting last on a crumbling spinners' paradise. If at all, he has been lucky that his players have produced special performances: Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman conducted a workshop on batting on bad pitches in Kanpur, and Dhoni got special performances from nine of the players in Mohali.

His 100% win record is safe but Dhoni isn't shouting triumphantly from the rooftops just yet. "Playing [just] one Test and hitting a half century, you get an average of 50. So is the case if you hit a 100," Dhoni said, moments after securing India's biggest victory in terms of runs. "Your performance is counted over a longer duration of the game. I got my chance here but it was a team effort."

Dhoni, however, has the Midas touch and it was summed up best when he asked the debutant Amit Mishra to go round the stumps in the last over of the second day. Mishra bowled an accurate wrong'un to trap Michael Clarke in front and one was reminded of the ploy to give Joginder Sharma the final over of the World Twenty20 final. But Dhoni, to the amusement of all present, only said, "Fluke tha yaar [It was a fluke]."

What wasn't a fluke, though, was how Dhoni batted. He infused urgency into India's mindset with his aggressive approach and timely changes to the batting order. He had batted defensively in Bangalore and failed miserably, but in Mohali, he hooked his first ball for four - a statement that he wanted to make amends.

"It was a perfect scenario," Dhoni said. "We had got off to a good start on a good batting track and the ball was old. I think that suited my form of batting because that is my strength. In between, if there is a situation, I can go back [on the defensive] like the Lord's innings."

"But I should play the kind of cricket that I play more often, and that is aggressive cricket. In between I was not really playing my natural game, thinking more about the scenario and conditions. I need to play to my strength which is going out there looking to score runs. 8-) It is not only about hitting, it's about being fractionally more positive than others."

There was a beautiful moment after the completion of India's 320-run win. While everybody rushed to grab a stump as a souvenir, Ganguly merely walked up to congratulate his team-mates. Dhoni gave the man playing his last series, and also a centurion in this match, the stump he had taken for himself.

Dhoni later revealed that watching Ganguly was the most special part of this Test. "Sourav's getting to 7000 was very special. This is his last series and he is just going out and enjoying the game. He doesn't have any sort of pressure and that's how you want him to play. Sourav at his best, when he is playing his shots, is very different to others." And Ganguly, on his part, has played outstanding innings in both the Tests that Dhoni has captained.

Keeping calm on the field is quickly becoming Dhoni's signature, and he kept his cool off it as well, when a couple of potentially explosive questions were put to him. He was asked about his players' behaviour during the Test - Zaheer Khan was fined 80% of his match fee - and whether overtly aggressive sledging was the only way to beat Australia. "The only way to beat Australia is to play good consistent cricket," was Dhoni's response. "If it was verbal we would have had hired a few guys who are very good in that aspect." :P The reporters, if looking for a controversial quote, could only smile in resignation.

Dhoni was also asked to explain his appeal for a catch against Mitchell Johnson, one that he had taken on the bounce. Dhoni had appealed but straightaway asked the umpire to call the third umpire because he was not sure. Ricky Ponting was asked a similar question after the Sydney Test and he responded angrily asking the journalist whether he was questioning his integrity. Dhoni's response, however, was different. "I was not sure about the catch so I immediately got up and asked the umpire [gestures as if referring a decision to the third umpire], and Rudi [Koertzen] said that he [Johnson] never nicked it. So there was no point," Dhoni said.

"There are times when the ball bounces in front of you and you are not really sure. Your eyes are closed at times but when you feel hard [impact] on the gloves, you think it has carried to you. Since, in this series, it is not about players, it is ultimately the umpire's decision whether to refer to the third umpire or not." :lol:

His jokes apart, it was a perfect match for Dhoni. He won the toss and batted India to a dominant position in the first innings, almost all his bowling changes seemed to work, and, most importantly, he brought a ruthless touch to India's approach while setting a target.

However, like he did in Kanpur, Dhoni was wearing Anil Kumble's blazer when he went out for the toss. "Stand-in captain, stand-in blazer," Dhoni said. The way he is going they might need to stitch one for him soon. 8-) 8-)

http://content-eap.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/374904.html

MADDY

22nd October 2008, 10:18 AM

MSD is the single most powerful man in indian team now..........but he is the most controversial and most opposed too.......the opposition he has from some quarters are more than wat even pakistani players faced once from indian fans :P ........i feel sorry for MSD's detractors, he is just making a mockery of their attacks and their fav stars :)

HonestRaj

22nd October 2008, 10:31 AM

Why, in recent times, Dhoni is not performing well when he is not a Captain? / What is his best knock in Tests when playing under Kumble?

MADDY

3rd November 2008, 12:51 PM

Why, in recent times, Dhoni is not performing well when he is not a Captain? / What is his best knock in Tests when playing under Kumble?

can reply to data, not to perceptions :)

M.S.Dhoni has become the Test captain :notworthy: he is easily the second most popular cricketer in the country 8-) .......all the best Dhoni :thumbsup:

directhit

3rd November 2008, 12:52 PM

win the series 2-0 :thumbsup: ATB

HonestRaj

4th November 2008, 12:46 PM

Why, in recent times, Dhoni is not performing well when he is not a Captain? / What is his best knock in Tests when playing under Kumble?

can reply to data, not to perceptions :)

sure :D

A Kumble (as a Captain) - 10 403 57 26.86 (Mts Runs Best Avg)

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28081.html?captain=0;captain_involve=1973;class=1; filter=advanced;orderby=default;template=results;t ype=allround

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28081.html?captain=0;captain_involve=1973;class=1; filter=advanced;template=results;type=allround;vie w=innings

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dhoni as a captain (when kumble is injured) & he was a ODI captain:

2 192 92 96.00

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28081.html?captain=1;class=1;filter=advanced;order by=default;template=results;type=allround

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dhoni as ODI captain - 36 1316 109* 54.83

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28081.html?captain=1;class=2;filter=advanced;order by=default;template=results;type=allround

Dhoni's ODI career so far: 120 3793 183* 47.41

Data I collected after 2007 WC i.e., under Kumble's captaincy... when he had a definite chance to be a captain for Test also

crajkumar_be

4th November 2008, 02:00 PM

HonestRaj

4th November 2008, 03:28 PM

Why, in recent times, Dhoni is not performing well when he is not a Captain? / What is his best knock in Tests when playing under Kumble?
It's actually a terrific and enviable "dubious" record to have as with most players its the other way round

P.S: Dhoni himself admitted in a recent interview that ever since he assumed captaincy he was been getting too cautious in his approach and that he should persist with his natural game :thumbsup: (a complaint voiced by myself, nerd, feddy etc)

What I meant is, his performance is not the same when playing under Kumble, after he became ODI captain.

What i understood is, "If u make me test Captain, then i'll play well in tests.. or else only in ODI's i'll score some not out 50's etc. to make the team to win which I am captaining"

Overall test record: 32 1614 148 35.86 (M R B Avg)

If we exclude the runs he got under kumble's captaincy his avg is 40.36

(A Kumble (as a Captain) - 10 403 57 26.86 (Mts Runs Best Avg) )

If we really get into the stats.. we need to compare Dhoni's test performance with other Top order players under Kumble's captaincy to get the real picture.

For a sample I collected the Data for Sachin under Kumble's captaincy:

Sachin (under Kumble) - 12 904 154* 45.20 (M R B Avg)

While doing this, i found one thing, that Dhoni skipped India tour to sri Lanka & this was the series where our batsmens avg are affected (sachin's avg is 15+ in 3 tests :P )

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/35320.html?captain_involve=1973;class=1;filter=adv anced;orderby=default;template=results;type=allrou nd

directhit

4th November 2008, 03:38 PM

karthik - he has played just two tests as a captain and he did extremely well in one of em - to compare it with ten test matches is :?
anyways he is captain now, so :P

HonestRaj

4th November 2008, 03:51 PM

anyways he is captain now, so :P

Yes... no issues about this, he makes the team to win!!!!

karthik - he has played just two tests as a captain and he did extremely well in one of em - to compare it with ten test matches is :?

Not comparing his test record as a captain & non-captain post 2007 WC...

I was thinking myself (for long time) How he cud play very well in ODI's & not even half of that in test matches of the same series & people blame someone like Kumble for test defeats (who gives 100% for the team)

directhit

4th November 2008, 04:02 PM

I was thinking myself (for long time) How he cud play very well in ODI's & not even half of that in test matches of the same series & people blame someone like Kumble for test defeats (who gives 100% for the team) R_R - first of all ODIs and Tests are different roles for him. In ODI say atleast 40-50% of matches he gets to bat from overs 25-40/50 and he needs to score, his options are more. as for tests and blames - his primary role in test matches is as that of a WK IMO - blame him if he dropped catches/stumpings (Srilankan tour wud show how good a WK MSD is/was). again am not saying he neednt score, but the no of tests u've taken is far too less. who knows you might see a similar string of 20-30 scores from him post captaincy too :?
ppl are blaming kumble not only coz his field placings were defensive but also coz he wasnt taking wickets. if he did dont think there wud have been many complaints. as for kumble giving 100%, i guess all of em in the team gives 100% except maybe munaf :P

HonestRaj

4th November 2008, 04:10 PM

Anoop.. freeya vidunga.. I am not a Dhoni hater / Kumble lover.

Maddy.. Data's kettaru.. innaikku velai illai.. sari idhai pannuvoamnu search pannaen :)

--------------------------------------------------------

Just I want to add one more sample:

This was the stats of a player who was made to retire (AFAIK) & it is Sourav ganguly under Kumble:

Sourav - 14 1086 239 43.44 (M R B Avg)

he too had a pathetic 16 as his bat avg in SL series.

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28779.html?captain_involve=1973;class=1;filter=adv anced;orderby=default;template=results;type=allrou nd

directhit

5th November 2008, 07:16 AM

Anoop.. freeya vidunga.. I am not a Dhoni hater / Kumble lover.
solradhellam sollittu, appuram enna :twisted:

MADDY

5th November 2008, 11:22 AM

sure :D

A Kumble (as a Captain) - 10 403 57 26.86 (Mts Runs Best Avg)

Dhoni as a captain (when kumble is injured) & he was a ODI captain:

2 192 92 96.00

2 matches and 10 matches is not a fair comparison......reminds me of the joke my dad always says.......in a village of 2 men and 1 women, 50% of men marry 100% of women......

Dhoni as ODI captain - 36 1316 109* 54.83

Dhoni's ODI career so far: 120 3793 183* 47.41

Data I collected after 2007 WC i.e., under Kumble's captaincy... when he had a definite chance to be a captain for Test also

he has scored his highest score under someone else.........good......if u look at his first 36 matches, when he was not a captain:

36 1153 183* 52.40

if you remember he was no.4,5 in ganguly team rather than no.6,7 as now........so, he was dismissed more times than he is now since he comes last while batting..........so, average does shoot up now bcos of notouts........

What i understood is, "If u make me test Captain, then i'll play well in tests.. or else only in ODI's i'll score some not out 50's etc. to make the team to win which I am captaining"

this is itself shows its a perception issue.....after 2007 WC, we had no clue that Dhoni had a chance for test captaincy............there is a perception that

1. Dhoni is selfish and plays well only under his own captaincy,
2. he is haughty and talks rudely abt seniors in press,
3. he doesent respect seniors and treats them badly,
4. he doesent like Sachin Tendulkar and waiting to axe him,
5. he is a great politician and divides the team unity to rule it easily.

there is no way in the world, we(dhoni admirers) can remove these perceptions...... there is also a underlying reason for Dhoni bashing both in HUB and in general in the country.....if revelaed, will hurt lot of people....so let me avoid quoting that reason........

a complaint voiced by myself, nerd, feddy etc

i thot it was a complaint coupled with character assasination than a concern that happened few monhts ago....

P_R

5th November 2008, 11:37 AM

I don't have any particular reason to hate Dhoni or anything like that. Just a little annoyed that he is getting disproportionate applause. ovErA Eththi viduradhA thOnudhu. That is all. I won't labour to find concrete reasons. (As I quoted GM from Karna: unnai pudikkala dA...adhunAla adikkiren dA)

I think it may all boil down to a dislike for someone who plays a hoick over the covers with both feet in the air. Means vs. ends and all such aesthetic finickiness :-)

leosimha

5th November 2008, 12:42 PM

PR, Dhoni is getting too much of applause because of the T20 world champion title. Again T20 was won without the Fab Five. :D

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 01:11 PM

2 matches and 10 matches is not a fair comparison......

only 2 were there!!!!! :)

Kumble retire aagalainna... innum konjam stats adhigama kedachirukkum :)

I don't have any particular reason to hate Dhoni or anything like that.

For me too!!!

Even I supported / Liked Chennai super kings rather than Mumbai Indians in IPL

:wave:

P_R

5th November 2008, 01:34 PM

PR, Dhoni is getting too much of applause because of the T20 world champion title. Again T20 was won without the Fab Five. :D
I am not particularly fond of T20 - as I already mentioned. adhai ellAm serious-A eduththukuradhu illai.

Next there will be a book cricket world cup etc. Suresh Naina will be captain. Young blood same blood -nu cover story ellAm ezhudhuvaainga.

It is a format that really challenges the technical acumen of the players and the captain. You need to adapt the flipping techniques on the fly factoring in the texture of pages, tuning the nimbleness of the flipping fingers etc. The dynamics of the format demand the quick thinking and level headed youngsters like Raina, M.Vijay are best suited for adaptive play.The world cup victory assures us that we can confidently think of the change of the old guard as the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands

crajkumar_be

5th November 2008, 01:42 PM

:rotfl:

littlemaster1982

5th November 2008, 01:56 PM

Chancey illa PR :rotfl: :rotfl:

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 02:10 PM

:rotfl:

Next there will be a book cricket world cup etc. Suresh Naina will be captain.

Typo... but still I :lol:

P_R

5th November 2008, 02:18 PM

Tank yu

HR, typo ellAm illai. How can one let Naina, oothappam etc. pass by :-)

leosimha

5th November 2008, 02:22 PM

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 02:29 PM

Tank yu

Please to meet yu.. i am ramasamy :)

HR, typo ellAm illai. How can one let Naina, oothappam etc. pass by :-)

:)

MADDY

5th November 2008, 02:46 PM

MADDY

5th November 2008, 02:54 PM

only 2 were there!!!!! Kumble retire aagalainna... innum konjam stats adhigama kedachirukkum

then why did you make a observation?? :huh: edhavadhu vendudhala???

Even I supported / Liked Chennai super kings rather than Mumbai Indians in IPL

are you saying this to urself or me or to the hub as a whole?? :huh:

sorry guys for being pertinent on this issue..........IMHO, Dhoni doesent deserve this kind of hatred and belittlement of his achievements for only sin that he committed - to make BCCI team win consistently.........

MADDY

5th November 2008, 02:56 PM

leosimha

5th November 2008, 03:00 PM

Book cricket = T20 cricket.......i think thats a lame comparison to bring down Dhoni's achievement..........infact all accusations on Dhoni are very lame and getting more lame by the day........the best thing is he has made one of the most thinking hubbers come up with a lame comparison......:notworthy: Thats DHoni for ya :thumbsup:

:lol: :rotfl:

leave it maddy.

it is not accusations on dhoni, but it is that people are jealous of Dhoni that he has achieved at a very young age. this had happened to Mr. Kapil Dev also.

you very well know it. :D

leosimha

5th November 2008, 03:02 PM

and since i see sachin fans only bashing DHoni, i ask this -- Dhoni vera pannanum?? should he build a temple for sachin and declare that he is a dhoosu in front of sachin??? :huh: enna dhaan paa unga prachannai??

someone tell me - PR or CR or Feddy, nerd, or LM or HR - yaaravadhu sollungappa....:huh:

Sachin - Bheeshma Pitamah of World Cricket. Don Bradman, Gary Sobers, Vivian Richards is nothing in front of Sachin. ippadi thaan edhavadhu dhoni sollannum or we, who appreciate Dhoni, should say it.

crajkumar_be

5th November 2008, 03:10 PM

crajkumar_be

5th November 2008, 03:13 PM

Sachin - Bheeshma Pitamah of World Cricket. Don Bradman, Gary Sobers, Vivian Richards is nothing in front of Sachin. ippadi thaan edhavadhu dhoni sollannum or we, who appreciate Dhoni, should say it.
Oh, ivangaloda "performance" pathiyum theriyuma ungalukku? :notworthy: :oops: :lol2:

leosimha

5th November 2008, 03:19 PM

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 03:26 PM

only 2 were there!!!!! Kumble retire aagalainna... innum konjam stats adhigama kedachirukkum

then why did you make a observation?? :huh: edhavadhu vendudhala???

neengathane.. can reply to data & not perception-nu sonneenga :huh:

Dhoni is the Captain of T20 WC wining team = Fact
Dhoni under Kumble has not played well in tests compared to Dhoni as a captain in ODI = Fact

Data-na irukkuradhu mattumthan varum .. nan enna adhula oozhal-ah panna mudiyum :P

Even I supported / Liked Chennai super kings rather than Mumbai Indians in IPL

are you saying this to urself or me or to the hub as a whole?? :huh:

"last song listened" madhiri "last IPL team i supported" nu vechukkanga..

adha yarukkellam theriyapadhutha post panromo adhumadhiri

sorry guys for being pertinent on this issue..........

:)

MADDY

5th November 2008, 03:41 PM

Maddy

I don't have any particular reason to hate Dhoni or anything like that. Just a little annoyed that he is getting disproportionate applause. ovErA Eththi viduradhA thOnudhu. That is all. I won't labour to find concrete reasons. (As I quoted GM from Karna: unnai pudikkala dA...adhunAla adikkiren dA)

I think it may all boil down to a dislike for someone who plays a hoick over the covers with both feet in the air. Means vs. ends and all such aesthetic finickiness :-)

illa CR, sachin-oda 12K runs-a nakkal panna summa iruppela??? Dhoni's T20 world cup win has been ridiculed so many times unfairly......and now people are suggesting that he plays well only under his own captaincy.......btw, i'm not going to react hereafter abt unfair accusations......just wanted to let ppl. know that he has some support here..........

crajkumar_be

5th November 2008, 03:48 PM

illa CR, sachin-oda 12K runs-a nakkal panna summa iruppela??? Dhoni's T20 world cup win has been ridiculed so many times unfairly......and now people are suggesting that he plays well only under his own captaincy.......btw, i'm not going to react hereafter abt unfair accusations......just wanted to let ppl. know that he has some support here..........
Maddy,
neenga solradhu eppadi theriyuma irukku.. neenga kelungalen... :razz:

Its the other way round. Perspective ellam naasama pochu thanks to the rediff/TOIlet/ndtv/ibn/aajtak quickie mindset...
vekka vendiya edathula edhayum vekkadhadhunala varra reaksans dhaan idhu.. so, kostins naanga firste kettutom.. naanga dhaan kekanum!

MADDY

5th November 2008, 03:55 PM

villan007

5th November 2008, 04:00 PM

Dhoni :bow:

P_R

5th November 2008, 04:04 PM

Dhoni :bow:
kurukka vandhu kuthumadhippA kumbittittu pOreenga :-)

villan007

5th November 2008, 04:10 PM

convert ayiten-nu artham :mrgreen:

MADDY

5th November 2008, 04:10 PM

Dhoni :bow:
kurukka vandhu kuthumadhippA kumbittittu pOreenga :-)

naa appove sollala, naa senthil kodda pazhagarathukku idhaan unmayana kaaranam....periyavanga-nna mattayya madungiduvaan-nnu........but dhoni is still a young :thumbsup:

P_R

5th November 2008, 04:14 PM

naa appove sollala, naa senthil kodda pazhagarathukku idhaan unmayana kaaranam....periyavanga-nna mattayya madungiduvaan-nnu........but dhoni is still a young :thumbsup: :lol:

MADDY

5th November 2008, 04:16 PM

naa appove sollala, naa senthil kodda pazhagarathukku idhaan unmayana kaaranam....periyavanga-nna mattayya madungiduvaan-nnu........but dhoni is still a young :thumbsup: :lol:

hello unga undiyal vara vendiyadhu dhaan baakki......venumnaa maasa maasam pesikkalam....... :P

Sourav

5th November 2008, 04:16 PM

convert ayiten-nu artham :mrgreen: sourav to dhoni? :huh: :roll:

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 04:20 PM

convert ayiten-nu artham :mrgreen: sourav to dhoni? :huh: :roll:

No... Villain to Dhoni :)

directhit

5th November 2008, 04:40 PM

convert ayiten-nu artham :mrgreen: sourav to dhoni? :huh: :roll:

No... Villain to Dhoni :) eppadiyo Dhoni hero nu othukitteenga :lol2:

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 04:43 PM

convert ayiten-nu artham :mrgreen: sourav to dhoni? :huh: :roll:

No... Villain to Dhoni :) eppadiyo Dhoni hero nu othukitteenga :lol2:

Ada idhula enna irukku.. Rajini, Kamal & etc. ellorum hero'than... ungalukku orutharna engalukku innoruthar :) :P

Sourav

5th November 2008, 04:47 PM

directhit

5th November 2008, 04:48 PM

Dhoni :bow: :thumbsup: pava mannippu kuduthuttom :P

directhit

5th November 2008, 04:50 PM

Karthik and Ramal :evil: enna chinnapullathanama - go in R_R's posts he was sitharichifying engal anna sorry thambi :P as a villain, adha sonnen

HonestRaj

5th November 2008, 04:56 PM

R_R's posts he was sitharichifying engal anna sorry thambi :P as a villain, adha sonnen

Excluding the last 2 posts... I would say.. yes (but not exactly) .. but now I don't want to drag it further.

directhit

5th November 2008, 04:57 PM

freeya vidunga :P

Nerd

5th November 2008, 07:07 PM

indha side-E varradhilla, so missed the diskassan:

there is also a underlying reason for Dhoni bashing both in HUB and in general in the country.....if revelaed, will hurt lot of people....so let me avoid quoting that reason........

:confused2: Tell me talk me!

I second (third??) PR! I don't think much of T-20 either. Also I have never failed to appreciate Dhoni, if he deserves it (in my books of course!)

ajithfederer

6th November 2008, 07:29 AM

Idhai thanjavoor kalvettula sedhukki pakkathulaye ukkandhukongaa. Sondha ooru adhaane :lol2:

Sachin - Bheeshma Pitamah of World Cricket. Don Bradman, Gary Sobers, Vivian Richards is nothing in front of Sachin. ippadi thaan edhavadhu dhoni sollannum or we, who appreciate Dhoni, should say it.
Oh, ivangaloda "performance" pathiyum theriyuma ungalukku? :notworthy: :oops: :lol2:

ivangaloda performance much better than sachin so called "performance". :D

ajithfederer

6th November 2008, 07:33 AM

:rotfl:

Gosh how did i miss this thread yesterday :rotfl2:

Next there will be a book cricket world cup etc. Suresh Naina will be captain. Young blood same blood -nu cover story ellAm ezhudhuvaainga.

villan007

6th November 2008, 08:12 AM

:confused2: Tell me talk me!
)

:lol:

directhit

10th November 2008, 07:41 PM

Dhoni carries forward Ganguly's flame

Exactly eight years to the day since he first captained India in a Test, against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Sourav Ganguly marshalled the resources one last time. The ninth Australian wicket had fallen and the fielders were hovering around Cameron White and Mitchell Johnson with Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra having scripted a dramatic post-lunch collapse. It was a remarkable gesture from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and it said much about how quickly he has grown into the job. A less secure man would have wanted to hog the limelight, but by ceding space to one of Indian cricket's all-time greats for a couple of overs, Dhoni showed just how aware he was of the bigger picture.

It came through in the tactics he employed as well. There had been scathing comments made about the 8-1 fields and wide bowling on the third morning, but there was tacit acknowledgement from Ricky Ponting that he would have loved it if his bowlers could have exercised similar control. Dhoni may have re-ignited debates about the spirit of cricket and a win-at-all-costs mentality, but as far as the team was concerned, eight wickets for 166 runs in a full day on a batsman-friendly pitch was nothing to sneeze at.

"He has that extra bit of luck you need," said Ganguly later, and he wasn't being uncharitable. There were moments in the match when Dhoni's leadership appeared bereft of direction, but then something would happen that made you forget what had preceded it. So it was on Monday afternoon with Matthew Hayden flailing away at the bowling with the air of a man who refused to countenance defeat. Runs were being leaked at an alarming rate and there were no close catchers for either Hayden or Michael Hussey as Dhoni concentrated on cutting off the fours.

Then, he threw the ball to Mishra. The game changed. His fourth ball from round the wicket was a perfectly pitched topspinner that reared up like many a Kumble special had over the previous two decades. All Hussey could do was lob to slip, and the mini-crisis was over. Hayden then tried to improvise once too often against Harbhajan and after that, the outcome of the match was in no doubt.

The early belligerence from Australia, and Hayden in particular, had pushed Dhoni on to the defensive quickly. Ishant Sharma, the standout bowler of the series, bowled to an 8-1 field against Simon Katich, and had seven on the off side for Hayden. But with plenty of runs being surrendered behind the wicket, Zaheer's opening spell of six overs cost 44 runs.

Again, Dhoni came up with the right change. Stroke of genius or plain luck, Harbhajan's arrival at the bowling crease changed things. Dhoni put down a chance off the second ball he bowled, but there was an element of recklessness in Hayden's approach that made India believe that playing the patience game would bring about a breakthrough.

India managed just 21.3 overs in that first session, and the shadow cast by dismal over-rates that caused Ponting to take his eye off the ball on the fourth evening appeared to affect Dhoni too. With Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan bowling offspin in tandem, Hayden was only too happy to tee off, especially with the variety of sweeps that caused such devastation back in 2001.

Dhoni though never loses his cool. The field went out, the game seemed to drift and then Mishra came on. It was almost as though Australia had been lulled into a false sense of security and then struck with an upper-cut. Within minutes, the fielders were swarming around the bat and the men-on-the-rope tactics quickly forgotten. Mishra was far too much for the tail to handle, and there was just enough uneven bounce to make Harbhajan dastardly difficult to play.

"There will be greater tests for MS, especially when he takes the team abroad," said Ganguly afterwards. It was a quiet reminder to everyone of just how hapless India once were when they left home comforts behind. But though Dhoni may not quite have been Safe Hands behind the stumps in this game, there's enough intuition and spark in his leadership to suggest that Indian cricket's future could be very bright indeed.

At the start of the millennium, Ganguly started the journey to "raise Indian cricket's profile overseas". For 10 minutes this afternoon just before a famous triumph was clinched, the past and future were intertwined. In so many ways, Dhoni is the best man to carry forward the Ganguly flame. These could well be the best of times.

http://content-eap.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/377712.html

Sourav

12th November 2008, 07:05 AM

[tscii:9736648a03]Sourav's comments abt dhoni...

Mahendra Singh Dhoni asked you to lead for a while on the last day and he also asked Anil Kumble to come over and receive the Border-Gavaskar Trophy along with him. Your feelings on those gestures.

It was wonderful of him to do that. Dhoni is the flag-bearer of the future generation. I wish him my sincere good wishes. He can do a lot for Indian cricket.

What are the qualities you admire in him as a leader?

He has done great so far and I’m sure he’ll take Indian cricket forward. He’s got the spark in his captaincy. I’ve always believed that captaincy is not about the drawing boards and meetings, it’s about how you react to situations on the cricket field. So far he has reacted to them very positively and in a very fantastic way.

Dhoni... :notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:[/tscii:9736648a03]

MADDY

24th November 2008, 11:23 AM

Another series win for Dhoni, serious problems for his bashers :lol:

Sourav

25th November 2008, 06:41 AM

[tscii:c741f38be4]CHIKASPEAK CLEARING THE AIR
‘Dhoni one of the best in world’
Best Thing About Dhoni’s Captaincy Is That He Is Calm Under Pressure, Says Srikkanth
Dwaipayan Datta | TNN

Chennai: If ever there was any tension brewing between Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the selection committee, it has dissipated into thin air.
It’s all like a family now and chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said on Monday how happy he is with the way the Indian team has done under Dhoni. Blowing away the Kanpur
controversy as ‘history’, Srikkanth said: “Dhoni is quite clearly one of the best captains in the world. It’s exemplary the way he is leading this team to one success after the other,” Srikkanth told the TOI during an exclusive chat on the sidelines of the launch of the Chennai Super Kings fan club.
“The best thing about his captaincy is that he keeps things simple and is always calm under pressure,” Chika said, referring to the recent performances of the Indian team. “It wasn’t any different on Sunday in Bangalore when India were just in a spot of bother. He handled his resources quite magnificently and helped us clinch the series,” the chairman of selectors added, with his trademark wink.
Srikkanth also talked about the aggressive intent of Dhoni that rubs onto the whole side. “Just look at the way he motivates these boys. I had seen it in him when he was in charge of the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL as well. Add to that the never-say-die attitude and you’ve a wonderful captain,” the former India opener said, quelling all doubts about any difference of opinion with the swashbuckling wicketkeeper batsman.
If the captaincy of Dhoni has left a huge impression on Srikkanth, the peformances of the opening duos of the Indian team (both batting and bowling) have pleased the Chennai maverick no end. “It’s something that happens to best teams in the world historically. The way Ishant-Zaheer and Sehwag-Gambhir have performed in the past few matches have been thoroughly impressive,” he said.
What excites him most is the way the players compliment each other. “I’m sure you have seen Zaheer the way he was helping out Ishant on Sunday. That’s what goes into the making of a good team. Each player stands by the other and the team looks like a well-oiled unit.”
Talking about the Gambhir-Sehwag duo, he said: “They are doing so well both in the Tests and the one-dayers. The understanding between the two is just brilliant.”
With Sachin Tendulkar also available, Chika feels that the Indian team is simply spoilt for choices at the top of the order. “Sachin can combine with anybody. We’ve seen how he batted in the VB Series finals and won it for us in Australia. He was in brilliant form in the Tests too and it’s just a matter of time before he explodes in the ODIs.”
With the team having a perfect balance of youth and experience, does Srikkanth feel his Mission World Cup 2011 is on track?
“We’re well on our way to become the No. 1 team in the world. The World Cup is some distance away, but I feel we have taken the step in the right direction,” Srikkanth predicted brighter days for Indian cricket.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOICH%2F2008%2F11%2F25&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T&PageLabel=19&EntityId=Ar01901&AppName=1[/tscii:c741f38be4]

Kalyasi

25th November 2008, 06:13 PM

Apdi Podu Arivaala!!

Sourav

26th November 2008, 09:02 AM

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/DM/MADHURAI/2008/11/26/Article//014/26_11_2008_014_012.jpg

Kalyasi

26th November 2008, 09:19 AM

inniku match a??

Sourav

26th November 2008, 09:30 AM

aama kalyan....d/n....2.30pm IST
Expect some changes in team....
ohja,kohli,vijay may be in....

Sourav

12th December 2008, 05:23 PM

[tscii:b5763419d7]Lakshmi Rai and Dhoni do a dinner date
By Moviebuzz | Friday, 12 December , 2008, 11:07

Finally, Lakshmi Rai and skipper Dhoni concede that they actually are real good friends and might turn lovers in time!

With Dhoni in Chennai again for the India-England test series, can Lakshmi Rai be far behind? The actress had visited Dhoni’s luxury hotel for a dinner with him but was peeved when security officials didn’t let her in.

It was only after Dhoni himself clarified that he had invited her that the girl was allowed in. The actress, who is now in Hyderabad confirms the story and says “We are friends, and we still meet every time he is in town”.

She continues: “We message and talk over the phone. We’re only friends now and I’m his biggest fan. I don’t know if this can blossom into love in the future.”:lol2:

The views expressed in the article are the author's and not of Sify.com.

http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14817111[/tscii:b5763419d7]

directhit

12th December 2008, 05:25 PM

sourav :x

Sourav

12th December 2008, 05:26 PM

sourav :x
Neenga thane dhoni news yethachum update panna sonnenga... :poke: :lol:

directhit

12th December 2008, 05:27 PM

sari sari - idhellaam veeranukku jagajam :P

Sourav

12th December 2008, 05:29 PM

sari sari - idhellaam veeranukku jagajam :P
i wil post this in funny thread too... (with ur permission) :ty:

Thirumaran

15th December 2008, 05:08 PM

Ensooooooooooy :lol2:

http://www.kumudam.com/magazine/Kumudam/2008-12-17/pg3.php

தோழியா! காதலியா! யாரடி நீ பெண்ணே' என்ற பாடல் இன்றைய நிலவரப்படி கனகச்சிதமாக பொருந்துவது நம்ம கிரிக்கெட் சூப்பர் ஸ்டார் தோனிக்குத்தான். காரணம், ஒன் டே மேட்ச்சில் சிக்ஸர்களாக விளாசும் தோனி சமீபகாலமாக லட்சுமிராயின் `பந்து வீச்சில்' க்ளீன் போல்டாகியிருக்கும் காதல் பரபரப்புதான். ஒரு சின்ன முன்கதை : சென்ற வருடம் ஐபிஎல் ட்சுகளின் போது தினம் சேப்பாக்கம் மைதானத்துக்கு வந்து தோனியை உற்சாகப்படுத்திய போதே இந்தப் பரபரப்பு துவங்கியது.

அதன் பிறகு இந்த வருடம் இந்த வாரம் நடந்த சம்பவம் ஒன்று...

மும்பை அட்டாக் எல்லோரையும் அலற வைத்ததால் சென்னையிலும் பாதுகாப்புக் கெடுபிடி அதிகமிருந்தது. இதனால் தோனியைப் பார்க்க வந்த லட்சுமிராயை, பாதுகாப்பு கருதி ஹோட்டலுக்குள் அனுமதிக்கவில்லை. இதனால் கொஞ்சம்டென்ஷனான லட்சுமிராய், ``தோனி என்னை டின்னருக்காக அழைத்திருக்கிறார். அவரையே தொடர்பு கொண்டு கேளுங்கள்'' என்றார். தோனியை பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகள் தொடர்பு கொண்டபோது, ``ஆமாம். அவரை உள்ளே வர அனுமதியுங்கள்'' என்று தோனி சொன்னதுமே கூலானார் லட்சுமிராய். தோனி-லட்சுமிராய் விஷயத்தில் உண்மையில் நடப்பது என்ன? ஹைதராபாத்தில் இருந்த லட்சுமிராயுடன் தொடர்பு கொண்டு பேசினோம். உற்சாகமாய் பேசினார். தோனியைப் பற்றி என்பதாலா என்று தெரியவில்லை. எடுத்ததுமே அதிரடி கேள்விதான்.

தோனியுடன் எப்படி உங்களுக்கு நட்பு ஏற்பட்டது?

``சென்னையில் கிரிக்கெட் மேட்ச் நடந்துகொண்டிருந்தபோதுதான் அவரிடம் எனக்குப் பழக்கம் ஏற்பட்டது. நான் அவருடைய தீவிர ரசிகையும் கூட. என்னுடைய பிறந்தநாளை சென்னையிலுள்ள ஒரு நட்சத்திர ஹோட்டலில் கொண்டாடினேன். அப்பொழுது அதே ஹோட்டலில்தான் தோனியும் தங்கியிருந்தார். என்னுடைய பிறந்தநாள் விழாவில் நீங்களும் வந்து கலந்துகொள்ளவேண்டும் என்று தோனியிடம் நட்போடு கேட்டுக்கொண்டேன். அவர் அதற்கு மறுப்பு எதுவும் சொல்லவில்லை. என் பிறந்தநாள் விழாவில் கலந்துகொண்டு என்னை வாழ்த்தினார். நானும் தோனியும் நல்ல நண்பர்களாகி தற்போது ஒரு வருடம் ஆகிறது.''

சமீபத்தில் மீண்டும் சென்னையில் ஹோட்டலில் தங்கியிருந்த தோனியைச் சென்று பார்த்தீர்களா?

``ஆமாம். நட்பு முறையில் அவர் என்னை டின்னருக்கு அழைத்து இருந்தார். ஹோட்டலுக்குச் சென்றபோது பலத்த செக்யூரிட்டி பாதுகாப்பு இருந்தது. என் வருகையை தோனிக்குத் தெரிவிக்க போலீஸாரிடம் கூறினேன். பிறகு தோனியைச் சென்று பார்த்தேன்.''

தோனி சென்னைக்கு வரும்போதெல்லாம் அவரை நீங்கள் தனியே சந்திக்க விரும்புவது போலத் தெரிகிறதே?

``சென்னைக்கு வரும்போது, நான் சென்னையில் இருந்தால் அவரைச் சந்திப்பது வழக்கம். மற்ற நேரங்களில் போனில் பேசிக் கொள்வோம்.''

இந்திய அணியில் எத்தனையோ இளம் கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்கள் இருக்கும்போது தோனிமட்டும் நண்பராகக் காரணம்?

``இந்திய அணியிலுள்ள கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்களில் முக்கால்வாசிப் பேரை எனக்கு நன்கு தெரியும். இருந்தாலும் தோனியைப் பிடித்ததற்குப் பல காரணங்கள் உண்டு. கேப்டனாக இருந்தும்கூட எந்தவிதமான பந்தாவோ, தலைக்கனமோ இல்லாமல், சிரித்த முகத்தோடு இருக்கிற ஜென்டில்மேன்.''

தற்போது உங்கள் இருவருக்கிடையில் ஏற்பட்டிருக்கும் உறவை என்னவென்று சொல்வது?

``நாங்கள் இருவரும் சிறந்த நண்பர்கள். அவ்வளவுதான் சொல்லமுடியும்.''

உங்களுக்கிடையேயான இந்த நட்பு காதலாக மாறாதா?

``காதல் என்பது தும்மல் மாதிரி. எப்போது வரும் எப்படி வரும் என்று சொல்ல முடியாது. காதல் என்கிற பந்துவீச்சில் தோனி க்ளீன் போல்டாகிவிட்டார் என்று சிலர் கமெண்ட் அடிப்பதாக கேள்விப்பட்டேன். உண்மையைச் சொல்லவேண்டுமென்றால் தோனி என்னுடைய தலைசிறந்த பெருமைக்குரிய நண்பர் அவ்வளவுதான்'' என்று சிம்பிளாகப் பேசி முடித்தார் லட்சுமிராய்.

காதலா, நட்பா என்று எடுக்கப்படும் குழப்பமான தமிழ் சினிமாவைப் போல் இருப்பதுதான் தோனி - லட்சுமிராய்உறவின் இன்றைய நிலை. அது தமிழ் நாட்டுப் புயல் போல் எந்த நேரமும் எந்தப் பக்கமும் கரையை கடக்கலாம்..

Sourav

15th December 2008, 05:09 PM

:rotfl:
TM'na...good work.... :thumbsup: :lol2: :lol:

HonestRaj

15th December 2008, 09:31 PM

:rotfl:
TM'na...good work.... :thumbsup: :lol2: :lol:

adha nee solladhe.. avarukku padi aLakkura modhalaLi solluvaru :lol2:

villan007

15th December 2008, 11:11 PM

poyum poyum lachumirai-a :(

directhit

16th December 2008, 06:25 AM

``காதல் என்பது தும்மல் மாதிரி. எப்போது வரும் எப்படி வரும் என்று சொல்ல முடியாது. pesuraalunga paaru punch dialogue :x

P_R

16th December 2008, 07:42 AM

poyum poyum lachumirai-a :(
eLLuruNdai

MADDY

16th December 2008, 09:06 AM

poyum poyum lachumirai-a :(
eLLuruNdai

yaaro kettangale - gimme instance of mods showing their dislike for Dhoni - look at me :lol:

Yesterday's match was one more example of dhoni's resolve and amazing resource management skills.............compare this match with 1999 match, tendulkar was the same - as brilliant as ever - the difference were sehwag, gambhir and yuvraj - dhoni has a major share in reviving their careers in different capacities.........let sachin fans call him lucky, machakaran, haughty, laxmi-rai pondra sappa figures' boyfrnd or watever - he is the best captain that we can ever get and BCCI team is bound to grow leaps and bounds under him :)

P_R

16th December 2008, 09:26 AM

Dhoni's innings in the first innings was quite impressive. There MADDY I said it !

directhit

16th December 2008, 09:27 AM

And finally its time for the Man of the Match, and it is indeed Sehwag for his 68-ball 83 on day four. "This is Sachin's best innings I have seen," he says. "I remember the Test loss against Pakistan here [in 1999] but today he finished the job. I always back myself to play only a few shots. If the ball is in my area I hit it. The ball was turning and bouncing but Sachin and Yuvraj batted brilliantly. I've played for eight years and the atmosphere in the dressing room now is brilliant. We believe we can do anything." MS :smokesmirk: :smokesmirk: :smokesmirk:

Thirumaran

16th December 2008, 09:34 AM

yaaro kettangale - gimme instance of mods showing their dislike for Dhoni - look at me :lol:

Neenga enna solreengalaannu therila :roll: Though i did not like him initially in regards of the captaincy, but after his mature behaviour on and off the field, i like him a lot. There is no doubt he is the best man we found to lead india. :thumbsup:

ajaybaskar

16th December 2008, 12:31 PM

http://sify.com/sports/cricket/fullstory.php?id=14819013&?vsv=TopHP2

Kalyasi

16th December 2008, 07:33 PM

4 tests as captain and 4 victories :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

directhit

19th December 2008, 12:06 PM

Mods : Pls enable this pic in the first page - Kalyan ok dhaane :D

Done. - Prabhu

Sourav

19th December 2008, 03:18 PM

Mods : Pls enable this pic in the first page - Kalyan ok dhaane :D

Done. - Prabhu
Viru thread paathu copy adichutteengala....:lol:
Nice still... :P 8-)

directhit

19th December 2008, 03:19 PM

Mods : Pls enable this pic in the first page - Kalyan ok dhaane :D

Done. - Prabhu :ty: :ty: PR - unga mela irundha pradhu ellam vaapas :lol:

hamid

19th December 2008, 04:00 PM

Mods : Pls enable this pic in the first page - Kalyan ok dhaane :D

Done. - Prabhu :ty: :ty: PR - unga mela irundha pradhu ellam vaapas :lol:

:)

Sourav

27th December 2008, 10:19 AM

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/DM/DINAMALAR/2008/12/27/Article//015/27_12_2008_015_005.jpg

MADDY

29th December 2008, 03:22 PM

English version of above article:

http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/cricketstory.aspx?id=SPOEN20080077769&site=ndtv

:bluejump: Dhoni as captain of test side :bow:

naa idhu varaikkum dhoni madhiri oru nallavara paathhadhe illa :( ......

Sourav

29th December 2008, 03:53 PM

naa idhu varaikkum dhoni madhiri oru nallavara paathhadhe illa :( ...... :?
Nethu meet varaikkum-nu sollunga...
meet-la than ennai paathuteengale.... :noteeth:

Sourav

30th December 2008, 07:26 AM

MS Dhoni’s excellent run with the bat

Mahendra Singh Dhoni,2008 was another triumphant year as captain, batsmen and wicket keeper.

The charismatic cricketer could do no wrong particularly in ODIs where besides leading the Indians to notable triumphs in the Commonwealth Bank Series, in Sri Lanka and a sweep against England, he also struck good form with the bat.

In 26 innings, he scored 1097 runs at a highly impressive average of 57.73 and a par strike rate of 82.29 with one hundred and eight half centuries.

As many as 74 fours and 14 sixes indicated that he was adept at timing the ball and finding the gaps even as his reputation as a big hitter did not suffer any damage.

Captaincy was hardly a burden for Dhoni who batted with the same fluency that has been his trademark for some years now. But he was more consistent as the scores indicate as also the fact that he was second to Gautam Gambhir among the run- getters. This was possible because he remained among the runs throughout the year – the Commonwealth Bank Series, in Sri Lanka, in the Asia Cup and against England.

http://sify.com/sports/cricket/imagegallery/galleryDetail.php?hgallery=14824825

Sourav

1st January 2009, 09:57 AM

தோனிக்கு தாவூத் கும்பல் மிரட்டல்!
http://www.dinamalar.com/fpnnews.asp?News_id=2655&cls=row4
புதுடில்லி : இந்திய கேப்டன் தோனிக்கு "நிழல் உலக தாதா' தாவூத் இப்ராகிம் கும்பலிடம் இருந்து மிரட்டல் வந்துள்ளது. ரூ. 50 லட்சம் தராவிட்டால் அவரது வீட்டை தகர்க்கப் போவதாக எச்சரித்து உள்ளனர். மூன்று நாளில் இரண்டு முறை மிரட்டல் கடிதம் வந்துள்ளதால் தோனிக்கு "இசட்' பிரிவு பாதுகாப்பு அளிக்கப் பட்டுள்ளது. இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் அணியின் வெற்றி கேப்டன் தோனி. இவரது பாதுகாப்பு சம்பந்தமாக அவ்வப் போது பிரச்னைகள் ஏற்படுவதுண்டு. முதன் முதலாக நக்சலைட்டுகளிடம் இருந்து மிரட்டல் வந்தது. இதையடுத்து அவருக்கு கமாண்டோ பாதுகாப்பு அளிக்கப்படும் என அரசு அறிவித்தது.

துப்பாக்கி வேண்டும்: சமீபத்தில் சென்னை தேர்வுக் குழு கூட்டத்தில் கலந்து கொள்வதற்காக ராஞ்சி ஏர்போர்ட்டிற்கு பாதுகாப்பு படை வீரர் ஒருவர் கூட இல்லாமல் தோனி வந்தது பெரும் சர்ச்சையை ஏற்படுத்தியது. இந்நிலையில் தனது பாதுகாப்புக் காக, தோனி தனிப்பட்ட முறையில் 0.9 மி.மீ., துப்பாக்கி வைத்துக் கொள்ள அனுமதி கேட்டு விண்ணப்பித்தார். இந்த விண்ணப்பம் மத்திய அரசின் பரிசீலனையில் இருக்கிறது.

மிரட்டல் கடிதம்: இந்தச் சூழலில் ராஞ்சியில் இருக்கும் தோனியின் வீட்டிற்கு கடந்த 29ம் தேதி ஒரு மிரட்டல் கடிதம் வந்துள்ளது. அதில் ரூ 50 லட்சம் பணம் கொடுக்காவிட்டால் வீட்டை குண்டு வைத்து தகர்க்க போவதாக எழுதப் பட்டு இருந்தது. இந்த கடிதத்தை தோனியின் குடும்பத்தினர் ராஞ்சி போலீசிடம் அளித்தனர். இதையடுத்து தோனியின் வீட்டிற்கு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகரிக்கப்பட்டு இருக்கிறது. நேற்று இரண்டாவது முறையாக மிரட்டல் கடிதம் தோனியின் வீட்டிற்கு வந்துள்ளது.

தாவூத் கும்பலா?: தோனிக்கு மிரட்டல் கடிதம் அனுப்பி இருக்கும் முகமது தஸ்லீம், என்பவர் தாவூத் இப்ராகிமின் மும்பை கூட்டாளி என சந்தேகிக்கப்படுகிறது. இது குறித்து எஸ்.பி., சம்பத் மீனா கூறுகையில். ""முகமது தஸ்லீமிடம் இருந்து மிரட்டல் கடிதம் வந்துள்ளது. தஸ்லீம் உள்ளூர் குற்றவாளி தான். கடந்த சில வாரங்களாக தஸ்லீம் இங்கு காணப்படவில்லை. தாவூத்திடம் இவனுக்கு தொடர்பு இருக்கிறதா என்பது குறித்து விசாரணை நடந்து வருகிறது,'' என்றார்.

விரைவில் கைது: ஜார்க்கண்ட் மாநிலத்தின் துணை முதல்வர் சுதிர் மகாத்தோ கூறுகையில், ""தற்போது தோனியை காப்பாற்ற வேண்டும். இதற்கு தஸ்லீமை கைது செய்வது தான் ஒரே வழி,'' என்றார். மத்திய அமைச்சர் ஸ்ரீபிரகாஷ் ஜெய்ஸ்வால், தோனியின் பாதுகாப்பை ஜார்க்கண்ட் போலீசார் உறுதிசெய்ய வேண்டும் என வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளார்.

பாதுகாப்பு அதிகரிப்பு: தோனியை மிரட்டி பணம் பறிக்க திட்டமிட்டுள்ளதை தொடர்ந்து அவருக்கு "இசட்' பிரிவு பாதுகாப்பு வழங்கப்பட உள்ளது. இதுவரை "ஒய்' பிரிவு பாதுகாப்பில் தான் இருந்தார். "இசட்' பிரிவுக்கு மாறியுள்ளதை தொடர்ந்து 45 போலீசார் பாதுகாப்பு பணியில் ஈடுபட உள்ளனர். இது குறித்து போலீஸ் செய்தி தொடர்பாளர் பிரதான் கூறுகையில்,""பயங்கரவாத மிரட்டல் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு "இசட்' பிரிவு பாதுகாப்பு வழங்கப்படும். இதற்கு இணையாக தோனிக்கும் பாதுகாப்பு கொடுத்து இருக்கிறோம். ரசிகைகளிடம் இருந்து தோனியை பாதுகாப்பதற்கு பெண் போலீஸ் பாதுகாப்பும் வழங்கப்பட்டு இருக்கிறது,'' என்றார்.

P_R

2nd January 2009, 06:34 AM

You guys will like this

Ted
Dexter impressed with Dhoni (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200812311860.htm)

He can also generate confidence among his players and is always eager to learn," said Dexter.

idhellAm eppidi solraanga ?!

MADDY

3rd January 2009, 01:46 PM

idhellAm eppidi solraanga ?!

anga ninnu paathha theriyadhu, inga vandhu paarunga nalla theriyum.........vella veler-nnu, jwwwooooooiinnu :lol:

i think it must be a reaction stemmed out of former cricketers' who chat with anja singam

Kalyasi

7th February 2009, 09:22 PM

The plan is simple, the results impressive

Sriram Veera in Colombo

February 7, 2009

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: "It's better to have a plan - may be a bad plan - in mind than be confused."

In early 2008, RP Singh spoke of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy. "Sometimes in ODIs, since Dhoni is behind the wicket, you don't get to communicate that often. The nature of the format means you don't change your plans too much. There are generally just two spells to be bowled," he had said. "So under Dhoni, you execute what you have already decided off the field and when you change, he would come running to you and discuss."

Nearly a year later, Dhoni has been running to Ishant Sharma during match situations almost pleading his bowler to bowl to a plan, and to set fields, and to only experiment according to those field placements. This has been the Indian mantra that Dhoni has been constantly harping on ever since he took over the captaincy.

Straight-jacketing a bowler to stick to a pre-determined plan might at the outset seem like killing the creativity of a bowler but Dhoni sees it just as sticking to a method and being disciplined. According to him, the plan is drawn up before a game in conjunction with the bowler and thus allows for the creativity to flourish as a part of the system; he is just against making an impromptu decision made on the fly. "It's better to have a plan - may be a bad plan - in mind than be confused," said Dhoni. "When you are the top of the bowling mark, you need to have one clear thought where to bowl.

"If you are going to bowl a slower one, then you need a deep midwicket, not a third man," Dhoni said after the second ODI. He wanted better clarity of thought from Ishant, who took the most wickets but was expensive in the Powerplay in that game.

In the absence of Harbhajan Singh, Dhoni has relied on his fast bowlers to take wickets. And in the era of the batting Powerplays, especially on flat tracks and without your specialist spinner, the role of a fast bowler becomes critical.

Ishant knows what he has to do and where he is going wrong. "I get to bowl three or four overs at the start and then I have to come again and bowl in the Powerplay," he said today. "You just have to stick to your fields. I don't have to do too many experiments."

Ishant has seven wickets at an average 26.14, second to the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, but it has come at an economy rate of 6.10. That is the highest for an Indian bowler to have bowled over seven overs in the series.

Ishant, who likes to hit the deck and derive pace off the track, has struggled a bit on the sluggish pitches. "Bowling has been difficult as the ball does not come on. It's not a big thing," he said. "The Indian wickets are similar and I am learning to bowl in all conditions. Zaheer [Khan] advises us in the nets and even during matches. When I am struggling or not bowling well in the game, he comes and tells me what to do."

When you are winning everything, the team spirit does tend to be exaggerated. But there are some pleasant signs that have been a constant feature in the series. Zaheer has constantly talked with Ishant in the nets and during the games. Venkatesh Prasad, India's bowling coach, has been intensively working with all the bowlers in the practice sessions. During practice Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have been suggesting to the bowlers on where they are going wrong and what lines to bowl.

In the middle, the captain has led by example. Dhoni got out in the 90s in the last game, going for the big shot and he explained it thus: "There was a ball change in the 34th over and we had to take the second Powerplay as well. So I thought one of the batsmen had to quickly get his hundred and capitalise in the Powerplay." Even cynics will have to admit that that there is at least clarity of thought and a sense of purpose in the ranks. Every one appears to know what their role in the team is. Not for nothing are India ranked No. 2 in the official ICC rankings.

The doubters will say that the hard job is sustain over a period of time - year after year, month after month, day after day, spell after spell, ball after ball. India is looking at it in the other way - Do it ball after ball and the rest will follow. An interesting 2009 lies ahead of us.

Sourav

17th February 2009, 08:04 AM

கோல்கட்டா : விக்கெட் கீப்பிங்கின் அடிப் படை விதிகளை பின்பற்றாமல் கேப்டன் தோனி தவறு செய்வதாக முன்னாள் வீரர் கிர்மானி குற்றம் சாட்டியுள்ளார். இந்திய அணியின் மிகச் சிறந்த விக்கெட் கீப்பராக திகழ்ந்தவர் கிர்மானி.

88 டெஸ்ட் போட்டிகளில் 160 "கேட்ச்', 38 "ஸ்டம்பிங்' மற்றும் 49 ஒரு நாள் போட்டிகளில் 27 "கேட்ச்', ஒரு "ஸ்டம்பிங்' செய்துள்ளார். கடந்த 1983ல் உலக கோப்பை வென்ற அணியில் இடம் பெற்ற பெருமைமிக்கவர். கோல்கட்டாவில் நடந்த நிகழ்ச்சி ஒன்றில் பங்கேற்ற இவர், தோனியின் விக்கெட் கீப்பிங் திறமை குறித்து கேள்வி எழுப்பினார்.

இது பற்றி கிர்மானி கூறியது: இந்திய அணியின் கேப்டனாக ஒவ்வொரு போட்டியிலும் முன்னேற்றம் கண்டு வருகிறார் தோனி. ஆனாலும் கீப்பிங்கில் தான் குறை உள்ளது. கிரிக்கெட் புத்தகத்தில் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ள அடிப்படை விதிகளை பின்பற்ற தவறுகிறார். பந்துக்காக காத்திருக்கும் போது, கால் விரலை ஊன்றி நிற்பதற்கு பதிலாக குதிகாலில் நிற்கிறார். தவிர கீப்பராக இருப்பவர் ஒரு தடகள வீரரை போல துடிப்பாக இருக்க வேண்டும். இந்த திறனும் தோனியிடம் இல்லை.

உடல் சிக்கல்: நான்கு ஆண்டுகளுக்கு பிறகு கீப்பராக செயல்பட தோனியின் உடல் ஒத்துழைக் குமா என்பது சந்தேகமாக உள்ளது. ஏனென்றால் அறிமுகமானதில் இருந்து நான்கு ஆண்டுகளுக்கு பிறகு ஒரு வீரரின் ஆட்டத்தில் நிச்சயமாக மாற்றம் ஏற்படும். வயதாகும் போது உடல் அசைவில் மந்தநிலை உருவாகும். இதனை அனைத்து வகையான கிரிக்கெட்டிலும் பங்கேற்கும் தோனி உணர வேண்டும்.

உதவும் வெற்றி: தற்போது இந்திய அணி வெற்றி மேல் வெற்றி பெற்று வருவதால், கீப்பிங்கில் தோனி செய்யும் தவறுகள் ரசிகர்களுக்கு தெரிவதில்லை. இவர் சுலப "கேட்ச்' வாய்ப்பை நழுவவிட்டது, "பைஸ்கள்' கொடுத்தது போன்றவை தலைப்பு செய்திகளாகவில்லை. ஆனால், அணியின் செயல்பாடு மோசமாகும் போது சிறிய தவறுகள் கூட பெரிய அளவில் விமர்சிக்கப்படும். என்னால் தோனிக்கு கீப்பிங் "டிப்ஸ்' அளிக்க முடியாது. ஏனென்றால் அடிப்படை விதிகளை இளம் வயதில் இருந்து பின்பற்ற வேண்டும். தற்போது காலம் கடந்து விட்டது. இனி அவர் வழியில் தான் சிறப்பாக செயல்பட முயற்சிக்க வேண்டும். பார்த்திவ் படேல் அல்லது தினேஷ் கார்த்திக்கின் "டெக்னிக்கை' கூட என்னால் மாற்ற இயலாது.

சிறந்த கேப்டன்: கேப்டனாக தோனி சிறப்பாக செயல்படுகிறார். தலைமைப் பண்பில் சிறந்து விளங்குகிறார். அணியை முன் நின்று வழிநடத்திச் செல்கிறார். இளம் வீரர்களுக்கு ஊக்க சக்தியாக உள்ளார். இவரை கங்குலியோடு இப்போதே ஒப்பிட முடியாது. கேப்டனாக நிறைய சாதித்தவர் கங்குலி. நியூசிலாந்து தொடருக்கு பிறகு தான் இந்தியா உலகின் சிறந்த அணி என்பதை தீர்மானிக்க முடியும். அணியின் வெற்றி தொடர்ந்தால் 2011ல் உலக கோப்பை கைப்பற்றலாம்.

சரியான முடிவு: "டுவென்டி-20' போட்டியில் இருந்து சச்சின் விலகியது சரியான முடிவு. இவர் டெஸ்ட் மற்றும் 2011 உலக கோப்பை போட்டிக்கு இந்திய அணிக்கு கட்டாயம் தேவை. "டுவென்டி-20' நெருக்கடியை அவர் ஏற்க வேண்டாம். இவ்வாறு கிர்மானி கூறினார்.

கார்த்திக்...பார்த்திவ் : நியூசிலாந்து தொடருக்கான கூடுதல் விக்கெட் கீப்பர் தொடர்பாக கேப்டன் தோனி மற்றும் தேர்வுக் குழு தலைவர் ஸ்ரீகாந்த் இடையே ஏற்பட்ட மோதல் அம்பலமாகியுள்ளது. பார்த்திவ் படேலுக்கு தோனி ஆதரவு தெரிவித்துள்ளார். ஆனால் தேர்வாளர்கள் தமிழக வீரர் தினேஷ் கார்த்திக்கை தேர்வு செய்து தோனிக்கு அதிர்ச்சி அளித்துள்ளனர். பாலாஜி, முரளி விஜய், புதுமுகம் தவால் குல்கர்னி ஒருமனதாக தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளனர். முழு உடல்தகுதி பெறாததால் தான் ஸ்ரீசாந்த், ஆர்.பி.சிங் தேர்வு செய்யப்படவில்லையாம்.
http://sports.dinamalar.com/NewsDetail.aspx?Value1=1&Value2=764&Value3=I

Kalyasi

10th March 2009, 12:36 PM

directhit

10th March 2009, 12:38 PM

Kalyan, :thumbsup:

Kalyasi

10th March 2009, 01:38 PM

Sourav

10th March 2009, 01:47 PM

Dhoni... :bow:

directhit

11th March 2009, 01:41 PM

MS Captaincy :smokesmirk:

:bow: :bow: :bow:

* Team India went on to win the inaugural T20 cricket World Cup 2007
* First ever trilateral ODI series win in Australia versus Australia and Sri Lanka - 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series
* First ever bilateral ODI series win in Sri Lanka (IDEA CUP) in August 2008.
* He captained Team India to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 at home versus Australia. India went on to win the coveted 4 match Test series (2-0).
* Captained Team India to win the RBS Cup 2008 at home versus England. India went on to win the coveted 2 match Test series (1-0) and the 7 match ODI series (5 -0) with the rest of the remaining two ODIs being abandoned.
* Under his captaincy, India beat Sri Lanka for the second time to clinch the IBDI Fortis Wealthsurance Cup ODI series 2009 (4-1). This is the second straight series win for Team India in Sri Lanka.
* First Indian Captain to achieve nine consecutive ODI wins (between 14/11/2008 and 05/02/2009). Earlier the record of having eight consecutive ODI wins were owned by Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
* First ever ODI Series win in Newzealand in March 2009 :smokesmirk:

Kalyasi

11th March 2009, 02:06 PM

Kalyasi

11th March 2009, 02:06 PM

Anoop :thumbsup:

Sourav

11th March 2009, 03:28 PM

MSD As Captain
Played Won Lost NR Series % Success
7 2 4 1 Australia in India 28.57
5 3 2 0 Pakistan in India 60.00
10 5 3 2 CB Series Australia 50.00
3 2 1 0 Kitply Cup 66.67
6 4 2 0 Asia Cup 66.67
5 3 2 0 India in Srilanka 60.00
5 5 0 0 England in India 100.00
5 4 1 0 India in Srilanka 80.00
4 3 0 1 India in NewZeland 75.00

50 31 15 4 62.00

Updated

Ini Erumugam thaan!!!

Dhoni becomes the Captain to have the best % of success rate for India surpassing AD Jadeja who has 61.54% success rate as captain.... 4 match-ku captain-a irunthavarellam yethukku kanakkula sekkureenga...Dhoni... :bow: :2thumbsup:

Kalyasi

11th March 2009, 03:53 PM

Sourav

11th March 2009, 03:59 PM

illa 13 matches captain a irunthu irukaaru.... athula oru tri series vs Kenya and Bangladesh, apparom innoru tri series vs SA and Ken.... antha series la kooda V.Bharadwaj Man of the Series vaanguvaaru apparom S.Joshi 5/6 best bowling figures.....k... i remember that series...first 5/6....next match 56/0 polanthuttanga.. :lol:

Kalyasi

16th March 2009, 12:28 PM

India's batting line-up flourishes under Dhoni

New Delhi: It cannot be called an emphatic victory - annihilation is a more correct word. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are breaking records wherever they play and now New Zealand has been conquered. The batting has been just brilliant so much so that Sachin Tedulkar himself calls this the best batting line-up he has played in.

Mission impossible isn't in their dictionary. India have been on an incredible run over the last six months. An incredible Commonwealth Bank series win Down Under started it all. England were chewed apart 5-0, Sri Lanka were thrashed 4-1 and now a first ever series win in New Zealand. A common factor: the Indian run machine is firing on all cylinders.

"It is the best batting line-up I've been a part of," Tendulkar says. "We've got almost five or six guys who can clear the ropes at will."

Now Sourav Ganguly may disagree with his former opening partner but sometimes statistics just drive home the point.

Sample this: under Dhoni India have won 31 of their 50 ODIs while before him India had won 313 and lost 317 of their 660 matches. But it's his key men who have suddenly exploded, tormenting bowlers worldwide like never before.

Sehwag averaged 31 before the Dhoni era, he now averages 46. Yuvraj Singh has finally realised his potential, going from 36 per ODI to 42. Suresh Raina has been the revelation - from just 27 per innings he now creams in a feisty 47. Gone are the days when Gautam Gambhir looked out of sorts in world cricket. Today he is mentioned in the same breath as Sehwag.

"We are a very young and talented side and we can chase anything because we have a belief in ourselves," Sehwag says. "Even if we are chasing 340 or 350, we have batsmen who can hit the ball very hard and we score 50 off 30 balls or maybe a hundred off 60 balls."

On song, this team's juggernaut is almost impossible to stop. Would Mohammad Azharuddin's team of 1996 and Sourav Ganguly's 2003 World Cup team stand a chance? They could match them shot for shot, but impact-wise Dhoni's men win hands down.

directhit

18th March 2009, 07:49 AM

History is against India. The facts are startling: India last won a series here more than forty years ago and even their last Test victory here came back in 1976.

A lot will depend on how successfully India ignore history. Of late, this team has made a mockery of history and reputation. They were supposed to be the worst of the big teams at the World Twenty20, they were supposed to lose easily in the ODIs in Australia, they were not supposed to win a Test there.

Ask Mahendra Singh Dhoni if past record matters to this team and he says: "We hadn't won a one-day series [in New Zealand] either." This time they cruised through the series, just missing out on a clean sweep.

"I am not bothered about whether we have won here or not," Dhoni said. "I am just bothered about the things we need to do over here as a team. We are not thinking about what happened in the past. I am not great when it comes to stats, so that really helps." :smokesmirk:

http://content.cricinfo.com/nzvind2009/content/current/story/395475.html

Can he keep his 100% record intact? :P 8-)

directhit

21st March 2009, 10:55 AM

Can he keep his 100% record intact? :P 8-) :yes: still remains undefeated in Tests :smokesmirk:

Kalyasi

25th March 2009, 12:08 PM

First Indian Team to win 4 ODI Series in a row --- MSD the gr8

http://howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Series/SeriesListCountry_ODI.asp

Sourav

27th March 2009, 07:18 AM

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOICH%2F2009%2F03%2F27&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabel=20&EntityId=Ar02000&AppName=1

Sanguine Sridhar

27th March 2009, 09:05 AM

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOICH%2F2009%2F03%2F27&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabel=20&EntityId=Ar02000&AppName=1

Hallo, link mattum post pannina eppadi, ullara enna content-um serthu post panra venna! :evil:

Sourav

27th March 2009, 09:30 AM

[tscii:7dd8ab02fa]

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOICH%2F2009%2F03%2F27&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabel=20&EntityId=Ar02000&AppName=1

Hallo, link mattum post pannina eppadi, ullara enna content-um serthu post panra venna! :evil: Blocked-a? :lol2:

A long and tiring day for captain cool
Bobilli Vijay Kumar

Napier: The word was out very, very late in the night only. But it wasn’t until morning, when Virender Sehwag slipped into his blazer, that Dhoni’s late pullout sunk in. First, there was incredulity and, then, shock at the turn of events.
For Viru, however, even though it was a great honour and moment of happiness to lead India, it was just another day in the office. He stepped out as captain but continued walking into the field like any other player.
Only after a few steps did he realize that he had to wait for the rest of the team. He did that, checked with Zaheer Khan his preferred end, quietly took his position at gully: no huddle, no words of encouragement or too much noise.
He watched phlegmatically as the first two overs went by, and the pitch showed no signs of assistance for his bowlers. It was only when Zaheer was preparing for his third over that Sehwag went up to him, had a longish word and, with his (Zaheer’s) sweater and hat, ran up to the umpire.
He didn’t show too much emotion when the first two wickets fell, and shook his head like he normally does and flashed a smile, when he himself dived to take a catch for India’s third wicket. The next four hours were hell though.
He had to watch in dismay as Taylor and Ryder did to bowlers what he normally does to them. He remained cool though and barely showed resignation or frustration; there were no tantrums or loud words when catches were dropped or edges went by justmoved fielders.
For the most part, Sehwag had at least two players in catching position; he stationed two others to man the short, square boundaries too, one at point and one at square leg. When batting became easier, he had three drive-saving fielders in the arc from covers to mid-off.
Overall, he seemed to be in control. The only time he became really excited was when Yuvraj Singh grabbed a floating catch to break the Taylor-Ryder partnership: he raced all the way to his deputy (?) and jumped into his arms. Unfortunately, for him, the collapse didn’t come even after that.
DHONI’S BACK
Like always, the clue for the next day was there to see on Wednesday itself. MS Dhoni, after attending the press conference, went straight to the massage table. While the others batted, bowled and fielded, he simply waited for the physio to work on his magic.
After nearly 30 minutes, he and Dinesh Karthik went along with Robin Singh to a set of stumps away from the nets. There, instead of he himself working on the edges, he made Karthik do all the dirty work. First, the ball was hit straight at the wicket, and
then, his bat acted as deflection.
Then, for a few minutes, Dhoni also tried his hand at squatting and rising. He didn’t even bother to wear his pads. He went back to the massage table after this one more time; maybe that is when he realized that it was not going to work. In the morning, he didn’t even bother to step out of his tracks.
SLIP UPS
Apart from batting depth, India also have a great catching record in slips. With Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar taking more than 100 each, the bowlers normally expect almost everything to be taken.
But on Thursday, many edges flew past the slip cordon, dropped short or even spilled out. Dravid, who is waiting for his 182nd catch to become the best in Test cricket, failed to latch on to a tough one when Taylor was in his 90s.
Yuvraj Singh, however, let go an easy one when the same batsman had barely opened his account. He just failed to react to it in good time. He is, of course, not a specialist slipper; he had to stand at third slip because Tendulkar couldn’t take his normal place due to an injury in the last match. It clearly had a huge impact on the game.
bobilli.vijay@timesgroup.com

[/tscii:7dd8ab02fa]

Sourav

1st April 2009, 04:27 PM

[tscii:5e1410a5f4]
I usually speak my mind: Dhoni
PRIYANKA DASGUPTA Times News Network

He can’t really say if he is politically correct since he usually speaks his mind. But under the present circumstances, he would neither comment on the Sourav-Buchanan controversy, nor have any opinion on whether Pakistani players should be considered for IPL now. Multiple-captaincy theories in cricket doesn’t merit a reply from him though MS Dhoni is clear a coach can’t be more important than a captain!

• From fashion weeks to election campaigns, you seem to be a favourite brand ambassador. Are you going to be the EC’s poll ambassador?
I heard about this from media reports. However, neither me nor my manager have been informed about this. I can certainly consider this if I’m approached.

• Do you follow national politics? Do you regret not being able to vote because of the change in the IPL venue?
Well, I do and I really regret not being able to vote this time. Voting is a very important, fundamental right.

• How politically correct are you as an individual and how politically correct do you need to be as the captain of Team India?
Well, I can’t really say if I am politically correct at all. I usually speak my mind.

• Do you anticipate a day in international cricket where the coach becomes more important than the captain?
A coach cannot become more important than a captain as at the end of the day, a coach is not present on the field while the match is going on. Football is a different ballgame altogether.

• Considering that your name is involved, is there anything about KFW that you’ve particularly ensured will be the first in the history of fashion weeks in India?
This is the first time ever that the cottage industry is being showcased so well. That’s a first already for any fashion week. The scale of the event is very grand. This fashion week also has a theme that keeps the Indian culture in mind. It has glitz and glam. That’s what, I feel, should constitute any Indian fashion week.
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH%2F2009%2F04%2F01&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabel=19&EntityId=Ar01903&AppName=1

[/tscii:5e1410a5f4]

directhit

3rd April 2009, 11:46 AM

[tscii:fc8c3c99f9]
Dhoni’s amazing Test captaincy record

From the first-ever Test between Australia and England at Melbourne way back in March 1877 to now, there have been 289 Test captains.

Of these, only six skippers could boast of unbeaten records after leading their nations in more than five Tests.

Among these six elite leaders, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only active player and stands second only to England’s Brian Close with an astonishingly high success percentage of 91.67.

If he manages to lead India to one more win when he returns after recovering from his back injury, he will be on par with Close. Now that would be a truly remarkable achievement:

The full details:

Captains Captaincy debut T W D Success %
Brian Close (Eng) The Oval, 1966 7 6 1 92.86
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) Kanpur, 2008 6 5 1 91.67
Warwick Armstrong (Aust) Sydney, 1920 10 8 2 90
Charles Fry (Eng) Lord’s, 1912 6 4 2 83,33
George Mann (Eng) Durban, 1948 7 2 5 64.29
Arthur Carr (Eng) Nottingham, 1926 6 1 5 58.33[/tscii:fc8c3c99f9]

directhit

3rd April 2009, 11:50 AM

[tscii:bb0042aa94]
Dhoni sitting pretty at top of ODI rankings

As regards to the ODI batsmen rankings, Australia’s Michael Hussey :lol2: will be looking to reduce India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s lead at the top of the table.

Currently, the batsmen are 17 rating points apart, but some good performances from the 33-year-old could see India’s wicketkeeper feeling the heat from the Australian.

Further down the table, Smith will be aiming to push up from seventh place and his opposite number, Ponting is currently 10th beneath Smith’s team-mate AB de Villiers.

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/dhoni-sitting-pretty-at-top-of-odi-rankings/39619-13-single.html

Dhoni tops ICC Batting Rankings

Indians top the charts in the ICC ODI rankings in the batting discipline, and are almost completely absent from the bowling ranks which are dominated by the Sri Lankans. Indian captain MS Dhoni continues to be top of the batting charts and has a healthy lead over Australian run machine Michael Hussey. Hussey will be hoping to take advantage of the five match ODI series against South Africa to bridge that gap

http://www.thesportscampus.com/20090402486/one-day-internationals/icc-player-rankings-30th-march[/tscii:bb0042aa94]

directhit

3rd April 2009, 11:51 AM

http://movies.iexplorehere.com/news/2344/Asin-and-Dhoni-to-share-screen.html
Asin and Dhoni to share screen

With her popularity post Ghajini, Asin has been selected by a retail chain to endorse their product. Also cricketer M.S. Dhoni will be seen opposite her for its advertisement.

Asin and Dhoni both have done many endorsements till date, while there is buzz that Asin is earning more from her endorsements than films. Today she is the face for seven big products in India. However, Dhoni is also working with actors like John Abraham, Saif Ali Khan and Bipasha Basu.

Soon, Dhoni and Asin will appear in the ad for a popular brand of retail super market Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar, which is a part of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd, a Future Group Enterprise has its 100 stores spread all around India. Asin had completed photoshoot for it and waiting for Dhoni to come back his New Zealand tour to shot ad for it.

Reports have that Asin has made a big deal with it. However the amount is not disclosed.

Paavam Laxmirai :lol2:

directhit

3rd April 2009, 11:52 AM

http://cricket.rediff.com/report/2009/apr/02/ms-dhoni-still-uncertain-for-third-test.htm

Dhoni, however, felt his possible absence would not weaken the team in any way.

"I am not that kind of player that the team relies on me a lot. Whether I am playing or not, will not have much impact on the team," Dhoni said :o :bow: :bow:

Results speak :smokesmirk:

directhit

6th April 2009, 07:51 AM

[tscii:0c96251bee]
Dhoni’s amazing Test captaincy record

If he manages to lead India to one more win when he returns after recovering from his back injury, he will be on par with Close. Now that would be a truly remarkable achievement:
Right on Track :smokesmirk:[/tscii:0c96251bee]

Sourav

9th April 2009, 07:12 AM

In queue for Dhoni!

Gayatri Jayaram (remember the song Manjakattu Mainah?) is a big fan of cricket. And, she's disappointed that the IPL isn’t happening here. “If it’s being played here, the hype and atmosphere will be excellent,” she says, ”I’ll be missing all that!”
If there’s one cricketer the lady is dying to meet, it’s Dhoni. “I’m already in queue,” she quips. Well, everybody sure is! [tscii:7d2aaceba3] [/tscii:7d2aaceba3]

Kizhinjathu kizhiyathathu..... :lol2:

directhit

15th April 2009, 07:25 AM

Dhoni's unusual double

Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored two fifties and took seven catches in the Wellington Test. Is he the first player to achieve this feat? asked Jude Franco from India

As it turns out, MS Dhoni is only the second man to achieve this particular all-round feat in a Test, scoring 52 and 56 not out and taking seven catches in the final match of the recent series against New Zealand in Wellington. The only other man to do it was South Africa's Denis Lindsay, who scored 69 and 182 and took eight catches against Australia in Johannesburg in 1966-67, to kickstart an amazing series in which he scored 606 runs and took 24 catches. Widening the net a little, there have been seven further occasions in which a player has scored 100 runs (but not necessarily two half-centuries) and taken seven catches in a Test, including a further instance by Lindsay (in 1969-70), and one by a fieldsman other than a wicketkeeper - Matthew Hayden with 41, 130 and seven catches against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2003-04. The others to achieve it include two Sri Lankans, Amal Silva and Chamara Dunusinghe, and Mark Boucher, Jeff Dujon and Ian Healy.

http://content.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/399390.html

Kalyasi

15th April 2009, 10:51 AM

Tendulkar salutes Dhoni's captaincy

Cricinfo staff

April 14, 2009

Sachin Tendulkar has praised the leadership skills of MS Dhoni, who has overseen a successful six months for India after taking over as captain in all three formats.

"I'm extremely happy and delighted at the way he [Dhoni] has conducted himself," Tendulkar said. "He is a balanced guy, is always on his toes all the time. Before he was made the captain, standing in the slips I interacted with him, and [he] picked [up a] lot of things which clearly indicated that he has a sharp brain, his approach was pretty clear and not complicated."

India are fresh from their first Test series win in New Zealand in 41 years, and have also defeated Australia and England at home in the past eight months. India have an impressive record under Dhoni's leadership, winning five out of seven Tests and losing none. Dhoni also led India to their longest winning-streak in one-dayers during comprehensive series wins over England and Sri Lanka, and most notably, led them to victory in the World Twenty20 in 2007. He's captained his team in 51 ODIs, winning 31 of them.

Dhoni's record with the bat as captain is significantly better than his overall stats. In the seven Tests he's led India, he averages 60 as compared to his overall average of 37.73. His figures have been boosted by seven half-centuries, four of which came against Australia at home. He scored fifties in each innings against New Zealand in the rain-affected final Test in Wellington, where India fell just two wickets shy of wrapping up the series 2-0. The trend is similar in ODIs as well. He was India's second-highest run-getter in 2008 and averages 57.81 in 51 matches as captain, as opposed to 49.26 overall.

Another experienced player who was impressed with Dhoni's captaincy was VVS Laxman. "Dhoni is one of the best captains I have played under," he said. "He is so calm and composed. He exudes a lot of confidence. It's a great feeling to play under him."

One of Dhoni's biggest accomplishments as a leader has been forging a strong team spirit, and former captain Tendulkar said he relished playing the role of a senior member. "To players like Harbhajan Singh or Yuvraj Singh, I'm like their elder brother. I share information not just with them but also with other members of the side. It's a terrific atmosphere in the dressing room and it's not just one-way traffic," he said. "We learn from each other and if someone has some issues, there is the coach. Generally it's a great atmosphere and I enjoy being part of this side."

When asked about his decision to not be part of the national Twenty20 side, Tendulkar said he did not want to upset a winning combination. India had won the inaugural World Twenty in South Africa two years ago, but Tendulkar had not been part of that team because of fitness problems. "It's a team sport so, even if there is one weak link, it affects the whole team. I didn't want it to happen. The team went to South Africa and did well. They settled quite nicely. I don't want to disturb the combination now when they are going terrific."

directhit

15th April 2009, 10:56 AM

Kalyan :thumbsup: Cricinfo - :clap: :clap: rediff :puke:

directhit

7th May 2009, 10:51 AM

http://content.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/403212.html

Rajasthan and Chennai have prospered because they have clear lines of authority, consistent plans, and place trust in their appointed leader. Warne was not merely asked to captain his side, he was given carte blanche. Historically and temperamentally it was a smart move. Accordingly he was able to build Rajasthan by his own lights, hand-picking his assistants, sending his old pal Darren Berry around India to look under stones and bushes in search of unsung and cheap talent, inviting Jeremy Snape to give his quiet guidance, and allowing others he respected to join him in the endeavour. He chose his players, shaped his side and formulated policy. Too many cooks can spoil the broth because everyone wants to put in his own preferred spice.

Typically Warne's team has lived on its wits. He is in charge; the players look towards him for leadership, advice and strategy. It is a simple operation, and it works. Ego has been buried. By no means is it the only way for captaincy to work - only the most arrogant leaders think theirs is a blueprint. But Warne has been honest and his players know where they stand. For all his foibles, he has been Australia's lost leader.

Dhoni has been himself. His approach lies midway between Warne and Kumble. Like the Aussie, he shows faith in his players, is able to think and act on his feet, and does not panic or concern himself with appearances. Like the mighty Indian he is a warrior, unyielding, prepared to hurl himself into the fray. Plain and simple, Dhoni is able to focus his entire character on winning the contest, a task he goes about in a notably unemotional way.

While not exactly a sphinx, he does not give much away, does not react when things go awry, does not glare at blundering fieldsmen or reel at the sight of a long-hop. Instead he seems able immediately to think about the next ball. He is a constant and remarkable man, able to allocate his time and energies so that the field does not drain him, for upon departing he can switch straight into another world. Captaincy will not break him. Dhoni has exceptional clarity of thought. Knowing its leader, his team responds with equal determination, and afterwards relaxation.

In their contrasting ways Warne and Dhoni continue to cajole the best from their players. With a rare mixture of cunning, loyalty, bluff, intelligence and grit, they have carried their players along with them and formed a winning habit. By doing so they reinforce the old truisms about the supremacy of cricket captains. The good ones can make even 20-over tournaments bend to their wills.

So far, none of the others has quite reached their standard. They remain the benchmark.:smokesmirk: But then, they were chosen and empowered by owners aware of the importance of having the right man at the helm. Temporarily, anyhow, a good captain can sharpen the fangs of any team.

directhit

9th May 2009, 12:31 PM

[tscii:a8f73030a8]
http://sightscreen.rediffiland.com/blogs/2009/05/08/One-breath-one-step-one-time-3.html

Glancing across quickly at an ongoing pre-game discussion on Cricinfo between Siddharth Vaidyanathan and Osman Samiuddin, I was struck by something Sid said about Dhoni’s captaincy:

I think he relies a lot on instinct. But what works for him is that he knows the game really well. He splits the game into micro events ... one ball, one over kinds .. I don't think he looks at planning for a game ... Instead he plans for a batsman at a particular time in a game

Exactly. Having gotten out of the cricket-reporting game for quite some time now, I haven’t been chatting up players and others like I used to, but even from the sidelines looking in I’d say Sid’s call is spot on.

Watch him across a series, and you begin to realize that MSD is not about large-scale plans for each individual player in the opposition – if he were, as most of the recent former captains have tended to be, you begin to spot patterns fairly quickly. With MSD, the only pattern discernible is the absence of one, and the logical explanation is that his captaincy style revolves around reading a situation, and acting accordingly.

Simple, and if you have the smarts to read the game right, hugely effective[/tscii:a8f73030a8]

directhit

21st May 2009, 01:22 PM

Dhoni reminds Hayden of Waugh, Ponting

Centurion: India and Chennai Super Kings' Captain Fantastic Mahendra Singh Dhoni has made another killing. This time he seems to have floored an unlikely customer in the form of Matthew Hayden, who is playing under MS Dhoni in the IPL.

Hayden told CNN-IBN that there is no one better than him as a leader in the modern game. In fact Hayden went further comparing him to Australian legends like Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

"A lot has been spoken about MS's captaincy and I think he is very cool and calm and he is always ready to build a team. He is, in fact, one of the guys who loves an adventure and has an adventurous soul. And that brings the best out of the players that play under him," said Matthew Hayden.

"He reminds me a lot of both Ricky (Ponting) and Steve (Waugh). They have very similar personalities, very strong personalities. They love the team and the camaraderie of the team. For me, he has all the ingredients and I think the challenge is not so much in his leadership but within the leadership of the BCCI," he added.

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/exclusive-dhoni-reminds-hayden-of-waugh-ponting/41036-14.html

Anban

3rd June 2009, 11:40 AM

proxy Anjaasingam is trying to sideline the real anjaa singam..

Plum

3rd June 2009, 11:58 AM

anban, echuplain?

Anban

4th June 2009, 12:58 AM

http://www.in.com/news/readnews-sports-news-dhoni-serves-notice-to-viru-9465639-81631-rhp.html

Sourav

4th June 2009, 06:46 AM

http://www.in.com/news/readnews-sports-news-dhoni-serves-notice-to-viru-9465639-81631-rhp.html
not working.

Plum

4th June 2009, 10:34 AM

Edhir paarthaen - looks like Dhoni is afraid that Sehwag might outshine him as a batsman and then given the fickle Indian selectorial mind, it is a threat to him - even though Dhoni is a better captain than Sehwag, the way things work in India, if Sehwag continues to fire and Dhoni fails continuously as batsman, calls will be out for ousting Dhoni as captain. I think Dhoni is showing signs of self-preservation here - idhukku dhaan Ganguly-ai pottu kolai veriya thakki irukkanga India-la. Ivaru escape aagaraarunnu paarkalam...

directhit

4th June 2009, 10:48 AM

:lol:

Anban

4th June 2009, 10:51 AM

sourav, read the title..

maramvetti is trying to sideline viru by pushing for rohit sharma as an opener..

Plum

4th June 2009, 10:54 AM

He is dropping viru at the slightest hint of lack of form whereas Praveen Kumars, RP Singhs, Rainas etc get a long rope. Even Yuvraj. Yuvraj mela avlo nambikkai Dhonikku - thannai outshine paNNa maattannu :-)

directhit

5th June 2009, 07:19 PM

http://dl002.zshare.net/stream/00ab0ce2f313d5674f6e81c45405b752/1244207180/60898441/Warm-Up%20Match%20IND%20Vs%20PAK%20-%20IND%20Inning%20-%20over16.wmv.flv

see this video at about 1:15 or so - sehwag speaking so happily and also abt they (the team) deciding to send rohit up the order and how he is playing well etc etc. this was during the match v pak.

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/2009/jun/05/dhoni-slams-indian-media.htm

Rubbishing all talk of a rift between himself and Virender Sehwag, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday came out with his entire squad, including support staff, for the pre-match press conference in Nottingham ahead of the team's World T20 opener against Bangladesh, and lashed out at a "false and irresponsible" Indian media.

Dhoni said: "This message is for the people of India and Indian cricket fans from worldwide who care for the whole team. That's why we are all here.

"As we prepare for the T20 World Cup, we are a unified team. The team spirit is as good as it has ever been, with each individual supporting each other both on and off the field.

"Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and Sehwag amounts to nothing but false and irresponsible media.

"Our fans and supporters can take confidence from the wonderful unity that continues to exist in the team.

"We thank our fans for this continued support and look forward to entertaining you during this tournament which we go into well-prepared, unified as Team India and confident.

"Thank-you."

Finished, Dhoni and the entire squad stormed out of the conference, leaving the Indian media miffed.

The media immediately lodged a complaint with the ICC's Communications Officer Sami-ul-Hasan, saying that since it is an ICC event it is mandatory for the captain or a team member to address the media ahead of a match.

Hassan agreed, saying ICC rules are certainly in place, but it has no control over how teams conduct their briefing.

directhit

5th June 2009, 07:48 PM

Dhoni takes strike

"This message is for the people of India and Indian cricket fans from worldwide who care for the whole team. That's why we are all here.

"As we prepare for the T20 World Cup, we are a unified team. The team spirit is as good as it has ever been, with each individual supporting each other both on and off the field.

"Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and Sehwag amounts to nothing but false and irresponsible media.

"Our fans and supporters can take confidence from the wonderful unity that continues to exist in the team.

"We thank our fans for this continued support and look forward to entertaining you during this tournament which we go into well-prepared, unified as Team India and confident.

"Thank-you."

Here's the report.

The line I found most interesting?

Finished, Dhoni and the entire squad stormed out of the conference, leaving the Indian media miffed.

Question for the 'Indian media': just why were you miffed?

Could it be that for once, you are finding a captain who won't play your games? A captain who, what is more, will confront issues head on when they arise or, more accurately, when you fabricate them out of whole cloth [As I had indicated earlier in the day, here (http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/two_interviews/)]?

One of the reasons problems proliferated earlier is that when sections of the media fabricated stories of rifts within the team, the captain of the time either did not address them head on, or if he did, did so in the sort of wishy washy fashion that carried no conviction.

This facet of Dhoni is, even more than his captaincy, the reason I like him -- he has the cojones to stop nonsense before it can spread, and doesn't care how blunt he has to be to get the message across.

PostScript: On phone just now from England, my Rediff colleague Harish Kotian informed us that as Dhoni led his team out of the press conference, he tossed a stack of printed copies of his statement at the reporters and said, here, otherwise you will misquote me on this as well [Nahin toh tum log isko bhi ulta likhega]. :lol:

What to say except, Go, MS! :smokesmirk:

http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/dhoni_takes_strike/

Plum

5th June 2009, 07:59 PM

directhit

5th June 2009, 08:04 PM

plum - try surf excel or rin powder, might wash :P

these jokers at star news and toilet paper deserves such treatment and am so happy someone is giving it the rite way back at them :smokesmirk:

Plum

5th June 2009, 08:14 PM

DH, adhu ennamo uNmai dhaan. But Dhoni is not as innocent and honest as he portrays himself. Oru report solludhu - he wanted to go into this tournament as pure batsman-am. Apdi ellam vandhirundha ivarai dhaan modhalla drop pannanum teamlerundhu. Nichayama paNNi irukka matttar. Apram edhukku uthaman maadhiri over-scene?

directhit

5th June 2009, 09:15 PM

plum, we all take only 'what we want' from reports, dont we? :P he doesnt want to keep wkts thts it, he did that in prev WC and in IPL and even in this T20 WC. he wanted a spare wk ambuttu dhaan - thamizhan DK kku kural kuduthurukkaan avana poi kura sollikittu.... :P
i dont seriously give a heck on whether he is honest/innocent blah blah - he backs his team/players and they back him - results show that! and millions of ppl know that too :wink: i dont want anything more from a national captain, and as it is after this blast we wud hear more such 'news reports' from all our media.

Plum

5th June 2009, 09:34 PM

DH, yah, he is deservingly national captain. Adhula sandhegame illai. Nobody else can get results like him. But konjam over-a innocent build up kodukkarainga. Adhu remba over.
But if he is only batsman, then he will find it difficult to be in the team as a pure batsman in the long run. Batting talent oorellam kotti kedakku India-la. Unless he can get out of his kaaduvetti phase, he is not good enough to be in the team as a pure batsman. Yes, Viru is out of form now but you tell me, who deserves to be in the team as pure batsman more?

directhit

5th June 2009, 09:43 PM

adhennanga innocent build up?! he himself told the media abt using robin uthappa for sledging and everyone knows he gives it back to rival skippers and he is right next to Dada in those kinda things. do u mean innocent as in no politics?! or ur fav above andhra (hindi speaking) bias? appadinna :no-shake-hands: :end-of-argument: :P

as for playing as a pure batsman - he is a wk, enna overnight keeping vuttu batsman aaga porennu solvaana :lol: edho oruthan ennamo ezhudharadhellam nambareenga. and first of all i dont even understand this comparison of MS with Viru :? oruthar opener/role of dismantling opp bowlers/part time bowler - innoruthar wicket keeper - enna comparison idhu, Run vs Ayan madhiri :lol:

also though i agree on ur comments on his batting in T20's and not being the MS he is capable, in ODIs he has done more than reasonably well (is still ranked #1 too). I have a feel that this T20 WC is gonna see the MS of the old :D

Plum

5th June 2009, 10:01 PM

DH, apdi avan old MS-a vandha sandhosham dhaan. Romba thadavaran ippollam or kadu vettaran. Confidence konjam down aana maadhir irukku...
Innocence as in no-politics. Bayangara politician ivan. Self-Preservation runs high in him. Eppo vuttu eppo pidikkaNumngaradhula killadi. SL Test tour ennama skip panninan - after attending 'very important' Bangaldesh tri-series :-)

directhit

5th June 2009, 10:17 PM

mm i dont think its the case of confidence - he takes the approach of getting to the par score first and then aiming at a higher target rather than aiming high and not even getting to par! thts been his game plan right from last T20 WC itself

test tour skip - it was the same protest against playing more tests (or as u incur - scared of playing mendis, ironically he and the team under him (discount yuvi) were the successful lot there). yes i do accept he is street smart - avan gandhi nu inga yaarum sollalaye! adhukkaaaga unga adjectives ellaam 10 km dissance la kooda nerunga vida maatom :P

Plum

6th June 2009, 07:38 AM

"mm i dont think its the case of confidence - he takes the approach of getting to the par score first and then aiming at a higher target rather than aiming high and not even getting to par! thts been his game plan right from last T20 WC itself"

idhaiye Sourav Ganguly paNNa selfishness, killing others' careeers to protect his career, screwing Indias chances to protect his strike rate and average adhu idhunu indha "youngsters should lead" brigade kitterundhu varadhungareenga?

Clearly, the role of consolidator is something that Dhoni is not needed for. Adhukku dhaan gambhir irukkan, If sehwag gets out and both Gambhir and Dhoni consolidate, apram edhukku Rohit Sharma, Raina ellam team-la?
I'd be disappointed if just to protect himself - late orderla vandha avanala munna maadhiri big hittting paNNa mudiyala adhukku munnadi varaan - he screws India's chances.

I hope his poor tactics get expose - thotha dhaan nammaLungalukku budhi varum. Luckily Raina Sharma ellaam match winning formla irukkanga adhanala India thokkadhu

MADDY

6th June 2009, 09:20 AM

Actions speak louder than words. Dhoni is afraid of Viru and drops him at the slightest chance - he did it in Australia Tri Series in Australia. he is doing it now.
Thirappadam: Anjali
Scene: Tarun and another boy uruNdu puRandu fighting...Charlie, the constable comes there. Immediately, the boys put hands on each other shoulder
Charlie: Enna inge saNdai?
Tarun to the boy he was purandu purandu fighting just a minute ago: saNdaiyam, illaiye. naan parkaliye. nee parthe? yaarachum paarthengalappa

Charlie goes back satisfied that there was no saNdai. But saNdai was there, wasnt it? we all know, dont we?
Dhoni's sakkupokkus dont wash with me

so u do accept 2 things:

1. its just a kids' fight :lol2:
2. they will later join hands for a casue (Anjali=T20 WC) :lol2:

btw, the other boy in that scene is none other than directror vishnuvardhan :)

DH, i'm really happy......the desperation levels of anti-MS people in media and general public have hit a new low......they want somehow Dhoni to be maligned and gone......lets see - who wins....hope my signature is true.....

Plum

6th June 2009, 09:34 PM

Oru analogy sonna adha extrapolate paNNi match panna vendiyadhu. Vutta andha analogyla vara tarunku 2.d yrs la saaga pora thangai irundha, dhonikkum irukkandreengalanu ketpaaru pola irukku.
;evil:

Analogy is limited to the point which is being compared - pooppola sirikkaran kozhandhai-nu sonna, avanukku hymen irukkannu ketka koodadhu.

Vivasaayi

6th June 2009, 11:37 PM

plum is right

dhoni is becoming a weak link in batting line up

and he is the reason for it...he is stoppng the momentum of the innings by coming in important one down and two down positions

he is not as good a batsman as raina or yuvi...and not being attacking batsman as well.

he finds no place i batting line up with yusuf pathan filling the slot down the line up.

he should start hitting the ball hard

MADDY

14th June 2009, 07:56 AM

plum is right

dhoni is becoming a weak link in batting line up

he finds no place i batting line up with yusuf pathan filling the slot down the line up

fair enuf - but gimme a "good" wicketkeeper who can replace annan.......i mean wicketkeepers not goalkeepers like parthiv or karthiku

littlemaster1982

14th June 2009, 08:19 AM

Maddy,

Karthik is certainly a better keeper than Dhoni. Dhoni is the best captain India have at present. That's why he is in the team now.

Sanguine Sridhar

14th June 2009, 10:11 AM

Maddy,

Karthik is certainly a better keeper than Dhoni. Dhoni is the best captain India have at present. That's why he is in the team now.

Indha thread thirumbavum back to square 1 varama irrundha seri thaan. :lol2:

littlemaster1982

14th June 2009, 10:15 AM

SS,

Puriyalai :confused2: Munnadi idhai patthi diso nadandhudha?

MADDY

15th June 2009, 08:12 AM

Karthik is certainly a better keeper than Dhoni

:shock: :handshake: :walkoff:

littlemaster1982

15th June 2009, 09:40 AM

Syed Kirmani openly criticised Dhoni saying that he lacks basics as a wicket keeper. Eppadiyum neenga otthukka poradhilla :)

Plum

15th June 2009, 03:25 PM

Bob Taylor recently came to India - his assesment was this:
"I came to India five-six years back on a scouting trip. The most promising keeper was dinesh karthik. Where is he now?"
Asked about Dhoni, he said
"Dhoni doesnt get behind the ball; he reaches out to collect the ball, which is the Australian method. He ws not in my list of 25 young keepers when I came in the scouting trip 5 years back".

This is the assesment of Taylor based on promise as youngsters. So, Karthik was ahead of Dhoni a few years back as a keeper

But in my opinion, the truth is that Karthik has regressed as a keeper - he has flashes of brilliance, but equal amount of brittleness. So, he'll come up with the odd flash-looking stumping but equally fail to collect a simple straight ball.

Also, he has been wearing long gloves in the last couple of years and there is a void portion of the gloves strutting out of his fingers. Part of his problem could be that he drops catches because of balls hitting this hollow part of the gloves. I dont know why he is wearing outsized gloves. To help collect the ball better and to avoid byes? If so, he is basically saving on the pennies, and losing out in pounds. Sad, really sad.

MADDY

15th June 2009, 04:03 PM

Syed Kirmani openly criticised Dhoni saying that he lacks basics as a wicket keeper. Eppadiyum neenga otthukka poradhilla :)

IMO and viewing, no. of misses of karthik >> no. of misses by Dhoni........

Plum

15th June 2009, 04:15 PM

Maddy, avLo simplistic-a dismiss paNNa mudiyadhu. I agree Karthik as he now isnt a better keeper than Dhoni. But basic technique of Karthi is better than Dhoni thambi's. Karthik gets behind the ball - Dhoni doesnt. Dhoni is relatively safe but is unlikely to make the difficult stumpings - but he'll rarely miss teh easy stumpings. This is from a purist's POV. But then practically, unless you have a bowler of the calibre of Murali or Kumble or Warne, you dont need to worry about technique behind the wickets as much as the 'safety' factor.

But if you look at the package Dhoni's relatively safer keeping PLUS explosive batting PLUS Captaincy makes him a way better package than Karthik even if Karthik lives up to his full wicket keeping potential

Where the problem comes is when Dhoni fails to live up to his batting potential...then things even out. This is applicable only if Karthik lives up to his full potential in keeping and corrects the silly technical mistakes - he can start with discarding the oversized gloves - with his basics being strong, he can easily outshine Dhoni as a pure keeper with some effort...

MADDY

15th June 2009, 04:30 PM

if Karthik lives up to his full potential in keeping and corrects the silly technical mistakes

IMO he never has.....ecent IPL too, annan handled murali, jakati pretty well and didnt miss any but karthik was squandering quite a few......ex: his missed catch of nehra.....

let me put u - plum as selector.....forget their people management skills - will u pick dhoni or karthik as a keeper,batsman and keeping in mind their attitude towards game?

Kalyasi

15th June 2009, 04:31 PM

Plum

15th June 2009, 04:38 PM

Maddy, my answer to your question is there in my previous post. I clearly said that Dhoni is the better package. The if with Karthik is a big if. He is short of confidence, too.
idhai vida theLiva solli irukka mudiyadhu :

But if you look at the package Dhoni's relatively safer keeping PLUS explosive batting PLUS Captaincy makes him a way better package than Karthik even if Karthik lives up to his full wicket keeping potential

For Karthik to overtake Dhoni
1) Karthik must live up to his full potential as keeper
2) Dhoni must regress badly as batsman, captain or both.

Both these conditions need to be fulfilled for Karthik to eb first choice for India - which is why it is not going to happen for sure.

MADDY

15th June 2009, 04:46 PM

Plum

15th June 2009, 04:51 PM

ok, there were many "ifs" , so wanted to make it clear.....my point is - though Dhoni will fail as a batsman,captain he will still hold on to keeper's post.........i think parthiv and karthik are not my canidates for this job....

sorry, if i sound rude to somone, karthik has a rotten attitude, if im not wrong.......he has never batted well + aggressively for BCCI but played so well for Delhi.......seeing him bat so well in IPL, it reminded me of goundar's dialogue :

GM: dei, unga akka-vukku soup vekka theriyumngra vishayame, enakku innaikku dhaanda theriyum

:P at Gounder dialogue but IMO, rotten attitude doesnt apply to Karthik. There are a lot of flaws he has, but rotten attitude is not one of them. Which is why he easily impresses team mates, coaches etc - kind of why you always see him coming back after bad intl series, and one good domestic performance. He is said to give 100% in training and nets, and brings in good work ethic. As TN captain, he certainly has the trust of his team mates.

Whatever is in his chatti, he is bringing it to agappai. Chatti frequent-a theerndhu poidudhu adhaan problem. Attitude problem is to be spoken of in the context of munaf patel, praveen kumar, virat kohli, even yuvraj singh(but what talent that boy has - andha talentku idukku mela attitude irundha kooda ok!). Of late, Ishant Sharma seems to be joining the list as "naan aaLa porandhavanda, enna yaaruda asaikka mudiyum" attitude.

littlemaster1982

15th June 2009, 04:51 PM

MADDY

15th June 2009, 05:15 PM

Maddy,

Karthik was batting well until England series 2007. Adhukkappuram oru 2 series ozhunga vilaiyadala. Udane tata kattittaanga.

2007-la India England test series-ai win pannadhukku Karthik-um oru kaaranam.

to be fair to BCCI, in 2007, they had Dhoni who performed as a batsman, keeper and was a captain material.....karthik could never get into scheme of things with other new turks like rohit,raina coming thru.......he got a chance in SL tour last year where i felt he was pertty pedestrian.........

karthik ellam comparison-e illa dhonikku - summa dhoni-a insult panna venaa, avana vechhi compare pannalaam

Plum

15th June 2009, 06:10 PM

"karthik ellam comparison-e illa dhonikku - summa dhoni-a insult panna venaa, avana vechhi compare pannalaam"
idhu over-u. Idharku kaalam badhil sollum. Ipdiyellam solrache dhan kaduppagudhu. Dhoni innum avLO periya thillalangadi illai. As a keeper, he is only slightly better than Karthik.

littlemaster1982

15th June 2009, 06:13 PM

to be fair to BCCI, in 2007, they had Dhoni who performed as a batsman, keeper and was a captain material.....karthik could never get into scheme of things with other new turks like rohit,raina coming thru.......he got a chance in SL tour last year where i felt he was pertty pedestrian.........

I agree. Specialist batsman-a ulla irukkara alavukku Karthik munneralai. I just brought his 2007 form to say he played well for India too.

karthik ellam comparison-e illa dhonikku - summa dhoni-a insult panna venaa, avana vechhi compare pannalaam

Idhu romba aniyaayam Maddy. Dhoni is not one of all time best keepers, indha maadhiri neenga solradhukku. Dhoni-yai insult panni enakku enna aaga pogudhu?

Plum

15th June 2009, 06:16 PM

SL-la aNNan Dhoni tour paNNi test-la keeping paNNi irundhaarna therinjirukum. Avaru dhaan escape aayittare...apram epdi compare pandradhu?

P_R

15th June 2009, 06:24 PM

MADDY

15th June 2009, 07:07 PM

start meesic :)

should Dhoni quit as captain :lol2:

http://ibnlive.in.com/conversations/thread/97660.html

60% say no -

needhi innum saagala naattama :bow:

P_R

15th June 2009, 07:10 PM

oru tournament thOththuttA udanE poll-ai vachchuttanungaLE.

Dhoni illainnA YuvarAsA captain paNNuvaanaamaa ?

crajkumar_be

15th June 2009, 07:13 PM

Inglorious dasterds, Indian fublic and media

littlemaster1982

15th June 2009, 07:14 PM

Honeymoon is over between Indian media and Dhoni. Times Now-la netthu romba over-a pannittu irundhaanunga :sigh2:

Plum

15th June 2009, 07:23 PM

"karthik ellam comparison-e illa dhonikku.
When they started out I would have said the reverse. KKD was next best thing after Nayan Mongia.

As many have observed KKD's decline coincided with Dhoni's improved keeping.

Especially goalkeeper-nu sonna adhu Dhoni dhaan. Avsaru dhaan goalkeeping style-la keep paNNuvaar. And he is doing it effectively. Karthik has the right technique but at some point, he had to
a) try to make it as a opening batsman because he couldnt compete with Dhoni's batting. As a keeper, he was better at that point
b) obviously, he lost focus on his keeping during those 2 years
c) now, he is struggling to get his keeping mojo together
d) ironically, Dhoni's explosive batting which is the only reason he made it ahead of Karthik, has gone to dogs now
e) Even today, if Dhoni's captaincy is not there, Karthik can make it as WK-Batsman to the Indian Test team. Karthik clearly is the better test batsman, notwithstanding the explosive start by Dhoni in tests as batsman. Karthik made it as an opener in seaming English pitches - which shows who is the better batsman clearly for tests.
f) basically, circumstances have cooked Karthik. Success breeds succes, failure breeds failure-nu idhai thaan solvaanga. Resillience, mental strengh adhu idhunnu sonnalum, anubavichavangaLukku dhaan idhu puriyum.

MADDY

15th June 2009, 07:48 PM

directhit

15th June 2009, 07:54 PM

emosanal athyachar dhaan :P :lol:

Kalyasi

17th June 2009, 11:01 AM

Inglorious dasterds, Indian fublic and media

all indhi news channels - only this talk......also, they were badly insulted by BCCI/Dhoni in sehwag episode.......they want to get back at Dhoni big time and wear him down mentally......emosanal athyachar dhaan :P

Vaazhga Jananayangam.......

Will this controversy create a rift in this side... If only the whole team was criticized they wud stand together and deliver.... but orutharoda thala urulanum nu nenaikaraangale indian media... It will never happen as long as Krishnamachari is the chaiman of selectors...

I expect our team to put up a better ferformans in WI.... may be a 4-0 win wud get the Indian media back in praising Dhoni.....

Vekkam ketta media.... :evil:

littlemaster1982

17th June 2009, 11:08 AM

Honestly, I don't see the current Indian team winning 4-0 in WI. They are very low on confidence and have been playing cricket continously for 7 months. They just need a break. BCCI :hammer:

MADDY

7th July 2009, 07:41 AM

Happy birthday to Anja singam, engal annan Dhoni :bow: ......

whoever has watched Indian cricket in 90's and sad drooping faces of players, losing matches casually, and the constant criticism at home - india thothhu poguradha pakka dhaan remote vanguniya-nnu oru kuttu on mandai - vexed by tag of poor travellers, this team is all about sachin-nnu nayyandi panna ellarukkum, ellathikkum modha adi - annan dada, avar vazhiyil ramarajyam nadathhum engal annan Dhoni.......seriously, Indian cricket or BCCI cricket fans from 90's are victory-starved, whoever provides us that are our favorites ........ofcourse, fix panni jeichhangana, theva illa.....

Dhoni is a remarkable captain.....hope he continues on his path and wins the world cup in 2011(?) ........he should win it and dedicate it to Sachin Tendulkar.......i'm sure as a 90's boy, he would understand the contribution of sachin and his desire to win the world cup.....indha tribute kooda seyyalana - eppadi :)

Kalyasi

7th July 2009, 09:08 AM

Pirantha Naal NalVaazhthukal MSD!!!!!

ajithfederer

7th July 2009, 09:09 AM

Birthday wishes to dhoni..

Sourav

7th July 2009, 09:09 AM

Happy B'day Dhoni! :2thumbsup:

littlemaster1982

7th July 2009, 02:54 PM

Many More Happy Returns of the Day, Dhoni :D

MADDY

30th July 2009, 08:07 AM

http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/news/2009/07/29/icc-odi-rankings-dhoni-no-1-yuvraj-no-2.html

Dhoni, Yuvraaj no.1 and no.2 in ICC rankings.......DHoni must set a record for holding no.1 slot for the longest time :P

Plum

14th August 2009, 04:10 PM

Today's news: ram gopal verma snubs dhoni:
Seems like dhoni accosted rgv in an airport and verma brushed him off "contact my office and leave your photo.they'll get back to you"
:rotfl:

equanimus

14th August 2009, 04:15 PM

Today's news: ram gopal verma snubs dhoni:
Seems like dhoni accosted rgv in an airport and verma brushed him off "contact my office and leave your photo.they'll get back to you"
:rotfl:
Ha ha, just read a news item on this. This is hilarious!

P_R

14th August 2009, 04:57 PM

Today's news: ram gopal verma snubs dhoni:
Seems like dhoni accosted rgv in an airport and verma brushed him off "contact my office and leave your photo.they'll get back to you"
:rotfl: :rotfl:

MADDY

18th August 2009, 08:54 AM

DHoni: allo Mr. RGV, naa ungala Delhi-la meet pannen
RGV: :roll: :?
Dhoni: sathiya sodhanai

meanwhile, Dhoni came to selection committe meeting sporting MJ t-shirt......eppadi idhellam :bow: ....

http://sify.com/sports/imagegallery/galleryDetail.php?id=jirr4Jchcdc

crajkumar_be

18th August 2009, 12:30 PM

DHoni: allo Mr. RGV, naa ungala Delhi-la meet pannen

:rotfl2:

Kalyasi

29th October 2009, 05:27 PM

2009 ODI Records
Country Mat Won Lost Tied NR % Win
India 22 13 6 0 3 68.42
South Africa 13 8 5 0 0 61.54
Australia 35 20 13 0 2 60.61
Sri Lanka 22 11 11 0 0 50.00
England 19 9 10 0 0 47.37
New Zeland 21 8 10 0 3 44.44
Pakistan 17 7 10 0 0 41.18
WI 21 4 15 0 2 21.05

India on Top with 68.42% Success Rate....

Thanks to MSD!!

Nerd

29th October 2009, 07:30 PM

Today's news: ram gopal verma snubs dhoni:
Seems like dhoni accosted rgv in an airport and verma brushed him off "contact my office and leave your photo.they'll get back to you"
:rotfl: :rotfl:
:rotfl: :rotfl: (This is not Anti-Dhoni, genuinely hilarious)

Plum

29th October 2009, 07:39 PM

Nerd, Maddy's Suryan quote in the context was even more hilarious :lol:

MADDY

1st November 2009, 07:19 AM

Annan Dhoni sculpts another Indian victory.... 8-)

VinodKumar's

4th November 2009, 08:19 AM

I noticed that MS Dhoni averages more than 100 in ODIs India won after fielding first. Is this a record? asked Rohit Sinha from the United States

MS Dhoni now averages 124.08 from 34 innings (22 not-outs) in 45 matches that India won after fielding first. This is the highest by anyone who has featured in 20 such matches. Dropping the qualification bar a little Thomas Odoyo averages 126.50 in 17 matches which Kenya won after fielding first, although he only had seven innings and was not out in five of them. And right at the top of the list New Zealand's Jeremy Coney scored 342 runs in 12 innings in 17 matches that New Zealand won after fielding first - but he remained not out in all 12 of those innings, perhaps making him the ultimate "finisher"! You can answer this sort of very specific query using Statsguru, as I did.

MADDY

6th December 2009, 07:01 PM

T20 WC
tri series win in OZ
ODI series win in SL
test series win in NZL after 41 yrs
ODI no.1
Test no.1

vaizhkaiyil aayiram thadaikkallappa
thadaikkalum unakku padikallappa

vetri kodi kaatu
malaigaLai muttumvarai muttu
lathchiyam ettumvarai ettu
padaiyedu

omega

6th December 2009, 08:19 PM

Congrats Dhoni. Way to go. :clap:

Kalyasi

7th December 2009, 10:43 AM

10 Test Matches as Captain, 7 Wins, 3 Drawn, None Lost.....

He is a man like none other

Dhoni annan :notworthy:

tamizharasan

9th December 2009, 11:58 PM

Congrats Dhoni on all achievements. Please bring world cup home in 2011, which eluded india since 1983.

Plum

10th December 2009, 12:16 PM

http://prempanicker.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/a-tale-of-two-number-threes/

Important points for MSD to ponder...

MADDY

10th December 2009, 12:55 PM

Plum

10th December 2009, 12:57 PM

T20 needs no anchoring esp when we were chasing 11 runs per over.......Dhoni comes in at no.3, bcos he needs time to start blasting.........but this is very costly since we will lose momentum and gain frustration of opposite end batsman......Dhoni better change his game to suit T20s or settle at no.6/7 for grafting when things go horribly wrong like 20/5 in 5 overs etc
Exactly the point Panicker makes, and I have been trying to make since IPL-2 days. I have warmed up to Dhoni the ODI and test player but in T20, his approach sucks and is costing India. Hopefully, he is smart enough to change it.

Kalyasi

10th December 2009, 04:07 PM

How Dhoni turned into my dad and won me over

Alex Bowden

When MS Dhoni hit 15 fours and 10 sixes in a 2005 one-day innings against Sri Lanka, I was impressed but not won over. With his long hair and unusual propensity to hit sixes whilst airborne, everyone loved Dhoni and he continued to tear bowling attacks into their constituent atoms for some time after that - but still I could take him or leave him. Over time and almost unnoticed, he's stopped doing the furious scything quite so much, and the more grimly efficient he's become, the more I've liked him. As the drama and glamour have receded, he's rapidly become one of my favourite players. You can't beat an uncomfortably played single down to fine leg - that's what I always say. (Actually that's the first time I've said it, but I've got plans to say it more often.)

It's almost as if Dhoni asked himself what cricketers he could learn from. Sehwag? Not really, boundary-hitting was sorted. No, Dhoni's true role models were now Mark Richardson and Paul Collingwood. "Why should they get all the plaudits?" he seems to have said. "I can make the most of my abilities too. I can be a fighter, a battler, a scrapper. I can work the ball into the leg side for one as well as the next man. I want some compliments about how many runs I've scored that sneeringly draw attention to the way in which I've scored them as well."

So Dhoni set about perfecting the skills required to earn those back-handed compliments. He probably spent three months in the nets perfecting the nurdle, which is a shot that you simply have to have if you want to be known as the best workmanlike batsman in the world. Perfect it he did, and now he's cranking out three-an-over fifties one after another. I find this even more endearing because of the simple fact that he can still cream the ball to all parts if the mood so takes him. Dhoni actually wants to score in ugly singles. I think he prides himself on it.

The change can partly be explained by the fact that he's now captain and pleasingly hell-bent on victory by whatever means. However, the true sign that things had changed was when he had his hair cut. Dhoni's old haircut was an eight-year-old boy who'd been given a luridly coloured sugary drink, a pen knife and a log. It stabbed at the log with a wild look in its eyes that was only partly explained by Sunshine Yellow food colouring and its tendency to make children hyperactive.

By contrast, Dhoni's new haircut is my dad. It's chosen the wood carefully, it's got all the right tools for the job, it's taking measurements twice and it's telling you that if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly. When the haircuts have finished with their respective blocks of wood, one's a splintery, chipped mess that's spattered with blood and one's an immaculate oak bookcase. I know where Slash's autobiography is in my house.

MADDY

10th December 2009, 05:26 PM

:lol: nice article 8-)

btw, the secret behind his hairstyle is simple - watever John Abraham sports, he will (including bipasha :lol2:)

ajithfederer

7th January 2010, 02:16 AM

To Maddy/anoops and his other fans. Idhu dhaan dhoni-oda blog aa??

http://dhoniworld.com/dhoni-featured.html

MADDY

7th January 2010, 06:28 AM

To Maddy/anoops and his other fans. Idhu dhaan dhoni-oda blog aa??

http://dhoniworld.com/dhoni-featured.html

official website :) ....thnx

Movie Cop

7th January 2010, 06:40 AM

To Maddy/anoops and his other fans. Idhu dhaan dhoni-oda blog aa??

http://dhoniworld.com/dhoni-featured.html
Pretty decent summary/note. This Dhoni dude, right or wrong, seems to have a pretty strong perspective on things, I say.

MADDY

7th January 2010, 07:22 PM

Pretty decent summary/note. This Dhoni dude, right or wrong, seems to have a pretty strong perspective on things, I say.

which is why he is hated/liked the most

MADDY

8th January 2010, 09:42 AM

Dhoni's off side Devastation

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Plum

16th January 2010, 10:22 AM

For Maddy
(http://www.cricketaakash.com/bloggers/ReadMore.aspx?prm1=5&prm2=undefined)
There's a lot there with which you can beat me up here :-) :

Both Sriram and I were getting a little irritated at seeing him bowling everyday, and that too, to Dinesh Karthick, his immediate competitor. So one day we told him, rather bluntly, that the idea of playing for India A is to eventually play for the country, and that his primary role is to keep the wickets and if there's any time left, he should devote it to his batting and not on providing someone else a hit. But Dhoni being Dhoni, he simply said 'अगर आपको भी खेलना है तोह मैं आपको भी ball डाल दूंगा ' (if you also want to have a hit, I'll bowl at you as well). May be it was thanks to his bowling efforts in the nets that Karthick batted beautifully in the games he played and was called up for the Indian team in the middle of our A tour.

Since my hand was still injured, I was staying away from active cricket and spent a lot of time on the sidelines working on my fitness. I would run for a long time at the end of the day's play with the reserves
Now I take a lot of pride in my stamina and endurance and was pretty sure that Dhoni would be very poor competition. But he gave me a run for my money. I was a little zapped and asked him if he's been running around in the gym or something to keep his stamina right up there. To that he answered that slow running is boring and that is why he stays away from it, but short sprints is something that he enjoys doing and I think he's naturally gifted in that aspect too. I argued that to play the longer version of the game one must develop stamina by running long distances, but he innocently retorted that he finds the longer version a little boring too.

sathya_1979

16th January 2010, 07:59 PM

Dhoni ruled out of tomorrow's Test Vs Bangladesh due to Back Problem - From Sun News