MS Dhoni - The most successful captain of India

[raghavendran]

SUPER
thnx Ajay

[ajaybaskar]

World Cup winner Dhoni now targets T20 crown

London, Apr 4: After winning the 2011 World Cup, Indian skipper MS Dhoni is planning to add another feather to his cap by targeting the Twenty20 crown, with the tournament being played in Sri Lanka next year.

The Indian team is No.1 in the Test rankings and is World Cup champion for the first time since 1983.

And with the Twenty20 World Cup back here in the subcontinent in Sri Lanka next year, Dhoni has set his sights on the trophy as present champions England will struggle to keep hold of their trophy, the Daily Express reports.

"We have achieved something great here," said Dhoni, after his 91 not out helped India to a six-wicket win.

"It is something we planned for one and a half years when we first targeted this World Cup. We had a long-term goal. But we are growing as a sporting nation and particularly cricket.

"The Twenty20 win in 2007 [in South Africa] was where this team started doing things differently, but we must close that chapter now," Dhoni said.

India's win ensures that 50-over cricket's immediate and medium-term future. India will defend the title in Australia in 2015. England will host the tournament four years on from that.

[raajarasigan]

Emotional Sachin says Dhoni the best captain he's played under

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report...r/20110404.htm

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ] was at his emotional best while talking to the media on Monday.

After all, his most cherished dream had been fulfilled after 22 long years.

"Winning the World Cup was my biggest dream," he reiterated, adding, "I was only 10 when we won the World Cup in 1983.

"And my dream has got fulfilled now. It doesn't get better than winning it in Mumbai [ Images ].

"I became extremely emotional, which was rare. The tears in my eyes were happy ones."

Tendulkar also took the opportunity to express his gratitude towards his team.

"I was touched when the players said they won it for me," he admitted, adding, "It was because of a collective effort and responsibility that we won the Cup.

"We had actually to convince ourselves that we won the Cup."

Asked what worked for Team India [ Images ] in the tournament, Tendulkar was categorical.

"We peaked at the right time and that was important," he said.

The Master Blaster was also all praise for captain MS Dhoni [ Images ].

"Of all the captain I have played under, he's certainly the best," admitted Tendular , before proceeding to elaborate on his point.

"The maturity and alertness he showed was tremendous," explained Tendulkar, adding, "He reads the situation well and works accordingly.

"He understands the situation and doesn't show frustration. And that's good for any captain."

The soon-to-be (on April 24) 38-year-old, though, avoided questions pertaining to his retirement.

[satissh_r]

yes, yes. West Indies mAdhiri opponents kitta Dinesh Karthik select paNNanum. Cheeka, pls do the needful

Ethukku? anga poyum asinga pattu varava

[ajaybaskar]

Dhoni the best captain I have played under - Tendulkar

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cric...ry/509507.html

[sathya_1979]

illayA pinna? MSD is instrumental in fulfilling thalaivar's dream in cricket. oNNu mattum pending - Aus series win in Aus. indha varusham adhayum fulfil seiyyarOm

[lawmani]

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

[lawmani]

Dhoni the best captain I have played under - Tendulkar

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cric...ry/509507.html

Hence proved.

[ajaybaskar]

Dhoni has proved he is human after all

Mumbai: India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni defied logic when he said that Piyush Chawla needed to play crucial World Cup fixtures ahead of the 'mentally strong' Ravichandran Ashwin.

That he would be satisfied if part-timers went for over six an over, as long as they did their job. That he didn't want to place a square leg fearing injuries. The mystery that is Mahendra Singh Dhoni continues to grow. On Saturday, those missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle were brought together by his instinctive moves. MiD DAY draws out five points in an attempt to crack the 'MSD Code'.

"I don't know. I can't remember how I felt during the final of the CB Series or the Tri-Series at Dambulla," he said when Ravi Shastri asked him at the toss if the Indo-Pak semi-final was the biggest match of his life. Dhoni continued to insist the World Cup was just another event. When the euphoria exposed its finest colours on Saturday, he shed a few tears, proving that he's just human.

He went out to collect the trophy in a sleeveless shirt, just as he had done during the 2007 WT20. At that time, he drew criticism. But, did it again. Was it just to prove a point?

Afterwards, he didn't want to compare the two triumphs. Again, he showed signs of a man who lives in the moment.

At the post-World Cup briefing, he was physically and emotionally drained. For the last 12 months, he had been harping on the process that began in October 2008. The drained expression on his face yelled out just two words: Mission Accomplished.

There was cheekiness in the way he responded to a foreign journalist's claim that this was a rare moment of glory in India's otherwise poor sporting history.

He responded by reminding the reporter, not of the cricket team's achievements in the last 18 months, but of other sports such as shooting, hockey, archery and boxing. A deep sense of nationalistic spirit was highly evident. So, what are the odds of Dhoni not entering politics after his career, and change the game like he did with cricket?

The pair of Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni fashioned the 17 successful run-chases in 2005-06. Fittingly, the pair were in the middle on Saturday.

After Rahul Dravid relinquished captaincy, there were murmurs of Yuvraj and Dhoni not seeing eye-to-eye because the former was keen on leading the side. Last year, Dhoni made a bold call in dropping Yuvraj for the Asia Cup.

But, he knew all along that Yuvraj was a big match player and kept backing him all the way through the five-match ODI series in South Africa. To ensure Yuvraj hits top form at the World Cup, he threw the ball to the left-armer frequently in South Africa.

[ajaybaskar]

'Dhoni's knock one of the best in WC finals'



London: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's aggressive unbeaten 91 in the World Cup summit showdown against Sri Lanka matches the greatest innings played by a captain in a final of the showpiece event, according to former England captain Mike Atherton.

Atherton said Dhoni's 79-ball knock could be compared to the match-winning 102 by West Indian captain Clive Lloyd in the 1975 final against Australia.

"Dhoni's unbeaten 91, topped off with a towering six over long-on to win the match, was an astonishing innings. It was fashioned under pressure but with a freedom found mostly a peg or two down from the kind of stage upon which a World Cup final is played," Atherton said.

"The greatest innings ever played by a captain in a World Cup final was Clive Lloyd's monumental hundred against Australia at Lord's in the inaugural tournament in 1975 and if this was not its equal then it was not far behind," he wrote in his column for The Times newspaper.

"Lloyd was in Mumbai in his role as chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee and as Dhoni past him on the stage to collect his man of the match award, the West Indian would have recognised a fellow traveller," he said.

Atherton was all praise for Dhoni's leadership qualities, especially when he was under intense scrutiny throughout the tournament.

"Nobody, except Sachin Tendulkar, has been under more scrutiny. Every decision, every move, every statement has been pored over by an army of writers and pundits. After the defeat against South Africa, Dhoni criticised his batsmen for playing to the gallery rather than for the team and it was as if he had tossed a meaty bone to the most voracious pack of jackals imaginable ... they gnawed on this juicy offering for days to come.

"When, in the same match, he gave Ashish Nehra the final over instead of Harbhajan Singh, an instinctive move that was perfectly reasonable but one that was backfired, it was a ploy that was commented upon and chewed over ... And why, everyone wanted to know, was Ashwin not playing at all?" wrote Atherton.

"Throughout, though, Dhoni has carried himself with the air of a man for whom such matters were trivial. Not once, until he let the mask slip on the podium, did he complain about the spotlight; not once did he lose his cool on the field."

The former England captain said there was no doubt that India had the talent to win the World Cup but the question was whether they would be able to soak the pressure and come out triumphant. He said with Dhoni at the helm the team went on to do its job calmly and with confidence.

"This was a triumph of leadership, pure and simple. The question throughout was not whether India had the talent to win the World Cup but whether they had the men to do it. Could they cope with the round-the-clock scrutiny, the suffocating, all encompassing demands of public for whom anything other than the ultimate victory would have been unacceptable. In short, did they have the bottle?

"They had it all right - whole jeroboams of it - and, on a magnificent and moving night in Mumbai which sealed the glorious career of one modern master whilst bringing down the curtain on another, nobody embodied this strength of mind and character more than their captain Dhoni. His calmness throughout has been a key factor in enabling this team to reach its potential," wrote Atherton.

Atherton felt Dhoni's move to promote himself up the order in the final was the perfect example of a captain taking upon himself the responsibility of leading from the front.

"From the very first ball, which he blocked, but with such crispness and determination in his footwork, it was clear that Dhoni was ready to seize the moment and shape his team's destiny.

"When he came into the Indian team he was a bit of a showpony, if truth be told, riding his man of the match bike around the outfield, and playing crazy shots almost for the sake of it. Few would have guessed that a mature leader was lurking within.

"Yet there he was on Saturday evening, as the fireworks lit the Mumbai skyline, millions hanging on his every word and waiting for the moment when he would become only the second Indian captain to grasp the World Cup in his hands."