Mahendrasingh Dhoni

DHONI IMAGE GALLERY(85)

2009-12-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

PADMASHRI MS DHONI

2009-12-30T03:25:00.000-08:00

INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION:

National side India:

Test debut (cap 251) 2 December 2005 v Sri Lanka

Last Test 2 December 2009 v Sri Lanka

ODI debut (cap 157) 23 December 2004 v Bangladesh

Last ODI 15 December 2009 v Sri Lanka

ODI shirt no. 7

DOMESTIC TEAM INFORMATION:

Years Team:

1999/00 - 2004/05 Bihar

2004/05- Jharkhand

2008- Chennai Super Kings

Career statistics:

Competition Test ODI FC List A

Matches 40 153 80 208

Runs scored 2,176 5,245 4,344 7,028

Batting average 40.29 50.26 37.44 49.49

100s/50s 3/16 6/34 6/30 11/45

Top score 148 183* 148 183*

Balls bowled 12 12 242 339

Wickets 0 1 12 23

Bowling average – 14.00 53.98 78.00

5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0

10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a

Best bowling 0/1 1/14 2/45 3/54

Catches/stumpings 102/18 150/51 208/36 216/66

TEST PERFORMANCE

2009-12-30T03:11:00.000-08:00

TEST PERFORMANCE:

#	Opponents	Matches	Runs	Average	High Score	100s	50s	Catches	Stumpings
Test career records by opposition
1	Australia	8	448	34.46	92	0	4	18	6

2	Bangladesh	2	104	104.00	51*	0	1	6	1
3	England	8	397	33.08	92	0	4	24	3
4	New Zealand	2	155	77.50	56*	0	2	11	1
5	Pakistan	5	323	64.60	148	1	2	9	1
6	South Africa	5	218	27.25	52	0	1	6	1
7	Sri Lanka	6	363	60.50	110	2	1	15	1
8	West Indies	4	168	24.00	69	0	1	13	4
Total		40	2176	40.29	148	3	16	102	18

TEST CENTURIES:

#	Runs	Match	Against	Stadium	City/Country	Year
Test centuries
1	148	5	Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	Faisalabad, Pakistan	2006
2	110	38	Sri Lanka	Sardar Patel Stadium	Ahmedabad, India	2009
3	100*	40	Sri Lanka	Brabourne Stadium	Mumbai, India	2009

MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD:

S No	Opponent	Venue	Season	Match Performance
1	Australia	Mohali	2008	92 & 68*

TEST RECORDS:

Dhoni's maiden century against Pakistan in Faisalabad (148) is the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. Only three centuries by two players (Kamran Akmal and Adam Gilchrist - 2) were faster than Dhoni's 93 ball century.

Under Dhoni's captainship, India defeated Australia by 320 runs on 21st Oct'08, biggest ever win in terms of runs for India.

Dhoni holds the record for most catches by an Indian player in an innings. He achieved this feat by taking six catches during the first innings of the third test against New Zealand in Wellington in April 2009.

Dhoni also equalled Syed Kirmani's record for most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicket-keeper. Syed Kirmani has effected 6 dismissals (5 catches and 1 stumping) against New Zealand in 1976. Dhoni now has equalled that record for most dismissals with 6 dismissals (all 6 catches) against New Zealand in 2009.

Dhoni currently ranks third in the all-time dismissals list by Indian wicket-keepers. With the six dismissals in the first innings of the Test match against New Zealand in Auckland,April 2009, Dhoni has now been involved in 109 dismissals. The following is the list of top five Indian wicket-keepers, in terms of all-time dismissals in test matches: Syed Kirmani (198 dismissals), Kiran More (130 dismissals), Dhoni (109 dismissals), Nayan Mongia (107 dismissals) & Farokh Engineer (82 dismissals).

Dhoni is now the second wicketkeeper to have effected 6 dismissals in an innings apart from a fifty in each innings of a Test match. Denis Lindsay had accomplished the feat for South Africa against Australia at Johannesburg in December 1966 - 69 & 182 and 6 ct. + 2 ct.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India reached their highest test score of 726-9 (decl) during Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009. Their 2-0 victory in the series took them to the number 1 ranking in Test cricket for the first time in history.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India has never lost a test match till date.

ODI PERFORMANCE

2009-12-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

ODI Cricket:

#	Opponent	Matches	Runs	Average	High Score	100s	50s	Catches	Stumping
ODI career records by opposition
1	Africa XI	3	174	87.00	139*	1	0	3	3
2	Australia	23	690	43.12	124	1	3	26	9
3	Bangladesh	8	146	36.50	91*	0	1	9	6
4	Bermuda	1	29	29.00	29	0	0	1	0
5	England	18	501	33.40	96	0	3	19	7
6	Hong Kong	1	109	-	109*	1	0	1	3
7	New Zealand	9	269	67.25	84*	0	2	7	2
8	Pakistan	23	920	54.11	148	1	7	22	6
9	Scotland	1	-	-	-	-	-	2	-
10	South Africa	10	196	24.50	55	0	1	7	1
11	Sri Lanka	35	1370	61.80	183*	2	11	36	7
12	West Indies	18	499	49.90	95	0	3	16	4
13	Zimbabwe	2	123	123.00	67*	0	2	0	1
Total		152	5026	50.26	183*	5	34	149	51

ODI CENTURIES:

#	Runs	Match	Against	Stadium	City/Country	Year
ODI centuries
1	148	5	Pakistan	ACA-VDCA Stadium	Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India	2005
2	183*	22	Sri Lanka	Sawai Mansingh Stadium	Jaipur, Rajasthan, India	2005
3	139*	74	Africa XI^[60]	MA Chidambaram Stadium	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India	2007
4	109*	109	Hong Kong	National Stadium	Karachi, Pakistan	2008
5	124	143	Australia	VCA Stadium, Jamtha	Nagpur, India	2009
6	107	152	Srilanka	VCA Stadium, Jamtha	Nagpur, India	2009

ODI RECORDS:

On 31 October 2005 Dhoni scored 183* runs of just 145 balls against Sri Lanka in Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The following is the list of records created during the innings.
- The score of 183* is the highest in ODI cricket in the second innings (Earlier record: 153 by Lara).
- The innings featured 10 Sixes, the most by an Indian in an Innings, and the second highest in ODI cricket (The highest is 11 by Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi)
- He broke Adam Gilchrist's record of 172 for the highest score made by a wicket keeper
- The innings set the record for the most number of runs scored in boundaries (120 - 15x4; 10x6) breaking the record held by Saeed Anwar. The record was broken by Herschelle Gibbs (126 runs in boundaries - 21x4; 7x6) against Australia during his knock of 175.
- The score of 183* equaled the record of the highest score against Sri Lanka in ODI cricket set by Ganguly during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Among Indian batsmen who have played more than 50 matches, Dhoni has the highest average. Dhoni's batting average is also the highest amongst wicketkeepers in ODIs.
In June 2007, Dhoni(139*) and Mahela Jayawardene(107) set a new world record for the sixth wicket partnership of 218 runs against Africa XI during the Afro-Asia Cup.
- Dhoni erased Shaun Pollock's record for the highest individual score by a number seven batsman in one-day internationals during his unbeaten innings of 139. Incidentally, Pollock record stood for just three days as his score of 130 came in the first match of the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup while Dhoni's century came in the third and final match of the series.
- Dhoni also holds the records of the most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicketkeeper and joint International (with Adam Gilchrist) with 6 dismissals (5 catches and one stumping) against England at Headlingly 2 September 2007.
- Dhoni holds the Indian record of most dismissals in ODIs. He went past Nayan Mongia's 154 for India on November 14 2008 when he caught Ian Bell off Zaheer Khan at Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot. However including 3 ODIs against Africa XI, his 155th dismissal was TM Dilshan caught off Munaf Patel at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on 24th August, 2008.
Dhoni, when he was on four during his innings of 23 against Sri Lanka at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Saturday, completed 4,000 runs in ODIs. Having already effected 165 dismissals (125 catches + 40 stumpings), Dhoni became the sixth wicketkeeper after Adam Gilchrist, Andy Flower, Alec Stewart, Mark Boucher and Kumar Sangakkara to complete the "double" of 4,000 runs and 100 dismissals in the history of ODIs. Dhoni’s feat of completing the "double" of 4,000 runs and 100 dismissals in only 114 innings is a world record. He is the youngest wicket-keeper batsman to do so (27 years and 208 days).

MAN OF THE SERIES AWARDS:

S No	Series (Opponents)	Season	Series Performance
1	Sri Lanka in India ODI Series	2005/06	346 Runs (7 Matches & 5 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); 6 Catches & 3 Stumpings
2	India in Bangladesh ODI Series	2007	127 Runs (2 Matches & 2 Innings, 1x50); 1 Catches & 2 Stumpings
3	India in Sri Lanka ODI Series	2008	193 Runs (5 Matches & 5 Innings, 2x50); 3 Catches & 1 Stumping
4	India in West Indies ODI Series	2009	182 Runs (4 Matches & 3 Innings with an average of 91); 4 Catches & 1 Stumping

MAN OF THE MATCH AWARDS:

S No	Opponent	Venue	Season	Match Performance
1	Pakistan	Vishakapatnam	2004/05	148 (123b, 15x4, 4x6); 2 Catches
2	Sri Lanka	Jaipur	2005/06	183* (145b, 15x4, 10x6); 1 Catch
3	Pakistan	Lahore	2005/06	72 (46b, 12x4); 3 Catches
4	Bangladesh	Mirpur	2007	91* (106b, 7x4); 1 Stumping
5	Africa XI^[60]	Chennai	2007	139* (97b, 15x4, 5x6); 3 Stumpings
6	Australia	Chandigarh	2007	50* ( 35 b, 5x4 1x6); 2 Stumpings
7	Pakistan	Guwahati	2007	63, 1 Stumping
8	Sri Lanka	Karachi	2008	67, 2 Catches
9	Sri Lanka	Colombo (RPS)	2008	76, 2 Catches
10	New Zealand	McLean Park, Napier	2009	84*, 1 Catch & 1 Stumping
11	West Indies	Beausejour Stadium, St. Lucia	2009	46*, 2 Catches & 1 Stumping
12	Australia	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur	2009	124, 1 Catches, 1 Stumping & 1 Runout

BAT,BALL AND FIELDING AVERAGES

2009-12-30T02:46:00.000-08:00

BATTING AVERAGES:

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	40	62	8	2176	148	40.29	3496	62.24	3	16	242	40	102	18
ODIs	154	136	35	5133	183*	50.82	5729	89.59	6	34	390	110	151	51
T20Is	20	19	4	356	46	23.73	336	105.95	0	0	23	7	5	2
First-class	80	127	11	4328	148	37.31			6	30			209	34
List A	210	188	45	7135	183*	49.89			12	45			218	66
Twenty20	54	50	15	1225	73*	35.00	973	125.89	0	5	93	39	16	6

BOWLING AVERAGE:

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	40	2	12	14	0	-	-	-	7.00	-	0	0	0
ODIs	154	1	12	14	1	1/14	1/14	14.00	7.00	12.0	0	0	0
T20Is	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
First-class	80		42	34	0	-	-	-	4.85	-	0	0	0
List A	210		39	36	2	1/14	1/14	18.00	5.53	19.5	0	0	0
Twenty20	54	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

BEST PERFORMANCES

2009-12-30T01:55:00.000-08:00

MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Haroon Lorgat pose with the ICC Test Championship mace pose with the ICC Test Championship mace, New Delhi, December 27, 2009

Best Performances:

148 v Pakistan, Visakhapatman, 2004-05:

Dhoni is playing his fifth ODI and walks in at No. 3 after Sachin Tendulkar has fallen in the fourth over. The pitch is flat, and Dhoni cashes in in a spectacular manner. He scores his maiden ODI century, 148 off 123 balls with 15 fours and four sixes, and by the time he's done Virender Sehwag's 74 off 40 balls has been overshadowed. It is the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper - barring Rahul Dravid - and by the time Dhoni is out, India are 289 for 4 in the 42nd over.

183 v Sri Lanka, Jaipur, 2005-06:

Sri Lanka set India a formidable 299 to win, and India lose Tendulkar in the first over. But Dhoni, promoted to No. 3, plunders 183 off 145 balls, and takes India to victory with 23 balls to spare. His innings includes 15 fours and 10 sixes, and it is the highest score by a wicketkeeper, the highest individual score batting second, and it has the highest number of runs scored in boundaries at the time.

148 v Pakistan, Faisalabad 2005-06:

After Pak have scored 588

in the first innings, India are in danger of conceding a massive first-innings lead after losing their top five for 281. Dhoni disregards the match situation, matched fire with fire, and what follows is a breathless knock that kills any chances of a result in the Test. A fired-up Shoaib Akhtar steams in and peppers Dhoni with a barrage of short balls, but Dhoni responds with a thrilling counterattack, hooking and pulling with aggression that almost approaches recklessness. He hits four sixes and 19 fours in his innings for 148, which take him only 153 balls. By the time he is out, India trail by only 97 runs.

Dhoni with the ICC world Championship Trophy(2007)

ACHIVEMENTS

2009-12-30T01:45:00.000-08:00

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

Became the first captain to lead India to the ICC World Twenty 20 trophy played in South Africa in September 2007 which India won on the 24th September 2007

Second Indian captain after Kapil Dev to have won a World cup

AWARDS:

On the 13th of February 2006, became the man of the match against Pakistan at Gadaffi Stadium for an unbeaten 72 runs

Made man of the match against Sri Lanka on the 31st of October 2005 for scoring his highest ever unbeaten 183 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium

Receives his first man of the match award against Pakistan at AC-VDCA Stadium for scoring 148 runs on the 5th of April 2005

RANKINGS:

On the 19th of April 2006, moves to the top at no. 1 position on LG’s ICC ODI player rankings

Ranked at no. 2 position on LG’s ICC ODI player rankings on the 16th of April 2006

RECORDS:

On the 17th of January 2008, became the first Indian wicketkeeper to effect five international dismissals in an innings against Australia - equalling Adam Gilchrist’s record

Holds the record for highest runs scored by a wicketkeeper, i.e. 183 not out

His innings of 183 not out is the highest score made by anyone in the second innings of an ODI. The former record was held by Brian Lara for scoring 153 against Pakistan

Became the first Indian to hit 10 sixes in an ODI

Made a record of scoring 120 runs in an ODI from boundaries and sixes(15 boundaries and 10 sixes)

Is the only second Indian to reach 1st position on LG’s ICC ODI batting rankings

BIOGRAPHY

2009-12-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Full name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
D.O.B: 7th July, 1981
Place of Birth: Ranchi, Bihar
Nickname: Mahi

PERSONAL PROFILE:

Dhoni was born and brought up in the city of Ranchi. He has two siblings. A sister who is married and a brother who lives in Almora. Almora is a high-lying town at the foot of the Himalaya which is his father’s home town. His father’s name is Pan Singh and mother’s name is Devki Devi.

CRICKETING INFORMATION:

Role: Captain of the Indian Cricket team
Batting style: Right hand batsman
Bowling style: Right arm medium
Field position: Wicketkeeper
Clubs played: Jharkhand

CRICKETING PROFILE:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni started his first class career in the year 1999-2000. His one day international debut came after playing five years of first class cricket on the 23rd of December 2004 against Bangladesh. The venue of the match was in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Unfortunately, he was run out on the first ball he faced. It wasn’t a great debut for him where batting is concerned. Luck wasn’t on his side in the first four matches he played. Where as on the fifth match which was played against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, Dhoni came to the crease one down and managed to score 148 runs from just 123 balls. He hit 15 boundaries and four sixes. He got his first man of the match award that day. Not only a good wicketkeeper but Dhoni proved himself to be a first class batsman too. He is one of the few finest wicketkeeper batsman India has seen after a very long time.

On the 31st of October, Dhoni broke the record of highest runs scored by a wicket keeper by securing 183 runs against Srilanka which was played at Jaipur. Adam Gilchrist was the former record holder with 172 runs.
Before he started playing cricket, he was a football goalkeeper. Its said he drinks around four litres of milk everyday but he denied it by saying that has been exaggerated a bit. He said he loves milk and drinks around a litre on a daily basis.

On the 2nd of December 2005, Dhoni made his Test cricket debut against Srilanka which was played in Chennai, India.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS:

Hearing music, ghazals and songs by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar
Loves to ride bikes
Enjoys playing computer games and badminton

SPECIAL QUALITIES:

Thinks positive
Highly confident about himself
Is aggressive on the field

HIS IDOL:

Adam Gilchrist

DEEPIKA PADUKONE WALLPAPERS(58)

2009-12-30T00:31:00.000-08:00

One look at this dimpled beauty and you know she was marked for fame and the world of glamour. And she hasn’t disappointed. From the daughter of a famous sportsperson to a supermodel, to an actress and now dating the dishy Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone has done it all with panache.

Growing up :
Deepika arrived into the scene on 5th January 1986, in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is the daughter of Ujjala and Prakash Padukone, who was the Badminton Champion. The sports genes runs in her family, for she herself played badminton at state level until 10th grade while her younger sister Anisha has taken to sports on a more professional level, with a strong interest in golf.
She did her schooling in Sophia High School and her graduation from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.

The Model
Deepika Padukone has appeared in several print and television commercials like Liril, Limca and Close-up. She was the brand ambassador for Jewels of India, a jewelry exhibition and the face of Maybelline, an international brand. She also appeared in the 2006 Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar.
She received recognition on the modeling scene by winning the Model of the Year title by the fifth Kingfisher Fashion Awards. The India Zee F Awards saw her walking away with not one but two prizes – Female Model of the Year (Commercial assignments) and Fresh Face of the Year.
She graced Himesh Reshamiyya’s video ‘Naam Hai Tera’ from his album Aap Ka Suroor.

Silver Screen Calling
It was hardly any surprise when she stepped into films in 2006 with her debut Aishwarya, a Kannada movie directed by Indrajit Lankesh, opposite Upendra who is one of the leading stars in the Kannada film industry.
Bollywood was not far behind. Her debut Farah Khan’s Om Shanthi Om was opposite none other than Shah Rukh Khan. She played a double-role, first as Shanthipriya a movie star and later as the bubble gum chewing star-struck Sandy. She walked away with the Filmfare Best Female Debut award and was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress award.
She starred opposite her beau Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Hai Haseeno, which released in 2008.

DEEPIKA WITH HER FAMILYBACKGROUND :

Prakash is father of model and actress, Deepika Padukone.

Prakash Padukone (born June 10, 1955) is a famous badminton player from Karnataka, India
Shy and soft-spoken, Prakash was initiated into the game at a tender age by his father Ramesh Padukone Sr., who was the Secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association for many years. Padukone's first official tournament was the Karnataka state junior championship in 1962. Though he lost in the very first round, two years later he managed to win the state junior title. He changed his playing style into a more aggressive style in 1971, and won the Indian national junior title in 1972. He also won the senior title the same year. He won the Indian national title consecutively for the next seven years, until 1979. In 1975, he joined the Union Bank of India as a probationary officer where he continued till 1986.
In 1979, he won his first major international title, that of the Commonwealth Games. Wins at the London Masters’ Open, the Denmark Open and the Swedish Open. He won the coveted All England Open title in 1980 with a victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King. He spent much of his international career training in Denmark, and developed close friendships with European players such as Morten Frost.
Prakash currently lives in Bangalore with wife Ujjala and two daughters, and runs the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982.

After his retirement in 1991, he was the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while. He was the coach of the Indian national badminton team in 1993 and 1996. He now manages the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He recently had his biography released at the 2006 nationals. The book, Touchplay, is written by Dev Sukumar.

LAXMI RAI IMAGES

2009-12-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

After the likes of Asin, Genelia and Trisha, it’s now the turn of Lakshmi Rai to try her luck in Bollywood. The beauty from Belgaum is now getting ready to pack her bags and test waters in Hindi films.

”I am playing the heroine in a Hindi movie that would begin early next year. I am in the process of reducing my weight to fit the role,” says the actress, who is currently acting in ‘Nan Avan Illai 2’, ‘Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam’ and a Malayalam movie opposite Mohanlal.

Heaping showers on Malayalam industry, she says, “Talents always get right recognition there. I am happy to work with giants like Mohanlal.” Dismissing media reports that often link her with co-artistes, cricketers and much recently with her physical trainer, Lakshmi Rai said, “I have better things to do and films are my priority. There is not even an iota of truth in such reports”.

COMMENTS ON CAPTAINCY

2009-12-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

AJITH WADEKAR:

Former captain Ajit Wadekar, in an interview to an Indian daily, feels India`s current skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the best leader in world cricket at the moment and will enjoy a higher success rate than Sourav Ganguly.

“The Indian team is lucky to have a captain like him. He is the best captain in the world at the moment. He knows how to get the best out of the team and leads from the front. He is very cool and has tremendous faith on his decisions and squad,” Wadekar told reporters in an interview

“Definitely Dhoni will become the most successful Indian captain very soon. He will break the record set by Ganguly,” he said.“He does not believe in giving big statments. He is well balanced in dealing with media. He backs young cricketers and never hurt the egos of senior players which is commendable,” Wadekar added.

“We are defeating champions in every format of the game. We have pacers and batters who performed well on every pitch including in Australia. No one should have doubt on the their capabilities now,” he added.

DHONI TO CAPTAIN-DHONI

2009-12-28T13:41:00.000-08:00

CAPTAIN DHONI:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a huge step toward one of the biggest jobs in world cricket on Tuesday when he was named captain of India for its series of one-day matches against Australia and Pakistan, to be played over the next two months.

Dhoni, 26, who is leading India in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, can make a strong case for also taking charge of the five-day test team if he performs well in the one-day matches. The job carries the pressure of meeting the expectations of India's huge population for its highest-profile national sport but also the prospect of great wealth.

India's next five-day series, against Pakistan, does not start until Nov. 22. The alternative to Dhoni is believed to be Sachin Tendulkar, India's greatest contemporary cricketing hero, who was only moderately successful when he captained the team in 25 tests from 1996 to 2002.

India's chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar, said of Dhoni, "He is a good captain, and this is the right time to groom him."

Dhoni's ferocious middle-order hitting has given him a high media profile and made him a highly effective one-day player. At one time, he was rated the best one-day international batsman in the world.

The main risk in appointing him to the five-day role would be that he is also a wicket-keeper, carrying an immense physical and psychological weight as the only man actively engaged in every single delivery in opposition innings that often extend over more than a day's play.

The vacancy was created by Rahul Dravid's resignation last week. World Cup years always bring their crop of captaincy changes. Inzamam ul-Haq and Brian Lara stepped down as captains of Pakistan and West Indies; Habibul Bashar lost the leadership of Bangladesh; and England finally concluded that Michael Vaughan's undoubted leadership qualities were outweighed by his limitations as a player in the shorter form of the game.

Dravid had survived India's miserable World Cup, where it was eliminated by Bangladesh, and led it to a series victory in England. His own form as a batsman had suffered, though. After scoring 87 runs per innings on previous visits to England, his average dropped to 25, and in the final test, he played one of the slowest innings in test cricket history, scoring only 12 runs in more than two and a half hours.

A consummate team player who never actively sought the captaincy, Dravid said he had stopped enjoying the job.

DINAMITE WITH DEEPIKA PADUKONE

2009-12-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Indian captain MS Dhoni invited especially Deepika Padugone for T20 between India and Australia in Mumbai. What about their relationship? Is it turning to love? MS Dhoni requested Shahrukh Khan to arrange a special screening of 'Om Shanti Om'. So it’s mean that MS Dhoni is a different game with Deepika in stead of cricket. Dhoni is now hero after wining the T20 championship on his lead on the other hand Deepika is also well known for her fame in the showbiz. The relationship is turning on glamorous to the media and the both fans.

Now DINAMITE DHONI and STYLISH DEEPIKA at the SAHARA award winning ceremony...

Now DEEPIKA with DHONI and YUVI...

DECENT DHONI WITH LAXMI RAI

2009-12-28T04:04:00.000-08:00

Indian cricket team’s good show at the ongoing Test match against England at Chepauk alone is not making it to the headlines – even hotter than this is the news about the meeting between famous Kollywood actress Lakshmi Rai and Indian team’s captain ..... MahendraSinghDhoni!

Laxmi’s link-up with Dhoni came to light last December and since then she has been flooded with offers from Bollywood. Three days ago, when Dhoni was in Mumbai to shoot for a commercial, they had dinner at a suburban hotel. However, Laxmi prefers to call Dhoni only a friend and does not give him the full credit for getting recognition inBollywood. She said, “Yes, people got to know me because of the link-up but it was a magazine cover that gave me a chance in Bollywood.”

Elaborating on what caused her to shift base, Laxmi said, “I was living in Chennai and would come down to Mumbai whenever there was a work opportunity. However, in the last few months, the offers have gone up, so I have shifted base to Mumbai.”

Laxmi has apparently been approached by Tips and Yash Raj films but may not be able to do the film because of the exclusive contracts they want her to sign. However, the actress refused to confirm the news.Laxmi said, “A lot of big banners have approached me and you will hear an announcement from their side very soon but at this stage, I cannot reveal any information.”