MS Dhoni - The most successful captain of India

[littlemaster1982]

For Dhoni fans here

[sathya_1979]

MSD averages 74+ in winning ODI matches - Best of all time Out of 6000 runs, 4000 are for winning cause A great finisher!

[directhit]

MOTTAI BOSS!!

[sathya_1979]

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/dhoni.../56180-13.html

Dhoni sees bright future for India

Mumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes India's World Cup winners have a duty to ensure that the country's next generation of players can profit from the success of the class of 2011.

Dhoni, who played a captain's role with his man of the match 91 not out in Saturday's six-wicket win over Sri Lanka, said the seeds of victory were planted in the 1983 title triumph of Kapil Dev's side.

The nurturing has continued ever since, albeit with varying degrees of success.

"It started with the 1983 win. And two big players Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar came on the scene, followed by Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid," said the skipper.

"It is due to them we are getting a lot of money and respect. We are trying to pass it on to the next generation."

Dhoni also insisted that success in the World Cup final is a reflection of the growing might of India itself.

"In the last three to four years we have done well in shooting, badminton, tennis, hockey and football as well," he said.

"We are growing as a sporting nation. But cricket is special because of the infrastructure."

Dhoni explained India's World Cup win had been the result of months of careful planning and preparation.

"We have achieved something great. About one-and-a-half-and a half years ago, we had set our eyes on the World Cup. Whatever we were doing on the field, we had a long-term goal to do well in the World Cup.

"We peaked at the right time and carried that momentum into the final," explained the wicketkeeper after a tournament where India lost just the once, to South Africa, and tied with England.

India have a packed upcomimg programme, including tours of the West Indies, England and Australia before the year is out, as well as home internationals.

Yet before any of that comes the latest lucrative edition of the Twenty20 Indian Premier League, starting on April 8, with Dhoni having led the Chennai Super Kings to victory in 2010.

"I don't think (we are) getting enough time (off). There's no time to realise we have won the World Cup."

Dhoni praised his players for their performances and their ability to put to one side the huge expectations of his cricket-crazy nation.

"I'm lucky. I always get good players. The players have responded to me even if it's a Test side, where there were senior players who were part of the side before I started playing for India," he said.

"Then, the youngsters coming in have contributed a lot, they have been willing to give more than 100 per cent."

He added: "It was the character of the individuals that helped us win this trophy."

Dhoni led from the front on Saturday as India, chasing 275 after Sri Lanka made 274 for six, won by six wickets to defeat their Asian rivals at the Wankhede Stadium.

Manic enthusiasm for cricket combined with India being the world's second most populous nation has long made it the sport's economic powerhouse.

But under Dhoni's captaincy and the coaching regime of Gary Kirsten, now set to return to his native South Africa, India's performances have started to match their financial muscle and influence in the corridors of cricket power.

All that was brilliantly summed up on the field by Dhoni.

Having taken the bold decision to promote himself above man-of-the tournament Yuvraj Singh, despite his own recent lack of runs, Dhoni finished the match by driving seamer Nuwan Kulasekara for six.

Dhoni is now the only captain to have lifted both the World Twenty20 and World Cup trophies.

India are also currently top of the International Cricket Council's rankings for five-day Test matches.

[mnaren555]

Dhoni

[MADDY]

yesterday's win isnt going to be the last victory for Dhoni - much more going to follow and i see the "greatest captain of all time" coming shortly..........so yesterday is certainly not the end of Dhoni - there is still much more to come.........at the end of it all we can compare DHoni and Kapil paaji......

its tough to compare generations, but i certainly feel the "mental" pressure due to media, expectations and hype is much more difficult to handle than lack of technology, infrastructure etc.......and who said, kapil's devils were a lesser side?? the number of all-rounders they had is more than number of all-rounders India has ever produced in their history

[SoftSword]

Kalyasi, Ajay, DH, Siva, raghav, hamid, raajarasigan - ellarum vaanga......

this is OUR day .......yaaru enna kettalum, appadi dhaan pannuvom-nnu sollanum

ennaya uttutteenga

[MADDY]

ennaya uttutteenga

ungalakku PM panni koopidalaam-nnu irundhen

[Plum]

Maddy - Mohinder, Yashpal, Sandeep, Krish ellAm all rounder kaNakkA?
Ravi Shastri, the designated all rounder in that squad was a dud himself. EpdiyO jeychiruchu andha team. Lloyd and co asattaiyum oru kAraNam. One thing you can't take away from Kapil is that he won the cup with that squad. Sachin orutharE equal to that whole squad.

Anyway, Dhoni will preside over many more victories enbadhil sandhEgam illai. After this tournament retirenu sonnadhellAm chatterjee dhAnE?

[sathya_1979]

nobody is retiring. This team must and will carry on for next 2-3 years atleast.