High on confidence after steamrolling the opposition in the first three matches before snatching an improbable win in the next, a rampaging India would look to rout New Zealand with a 5-0 series whitewash in the fifth and final cricket One-dayer in Chennai on Friday.
India's wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul revealed that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from international cricket came as a shock for Team India as the players wanted to give the former skipper a big send-off on the field.
The start of the first Test between India and Bangladesh at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium, in Chittagong, has been delayed due to fog and dew. Umpires Billy Bowden and Marais Erasmus will carry out an inspection at 0900 IST to decide when the toss will be held.
'Dhoni's jersey is number 7 and my jersey's number 3 is 73 together. On Saturday, when 73 years of India's independence was completed, we thought that there could be no better day to leave international cricket,' Raina was quoted as saying by Dainik Jagran on Monday.
Gavaskar also spoke highly of Dhoni's wicket-keeping skills and how they aid skipper Virat Kohli in making field placements.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni top-scored with an unbeaten 65 in a strong batting show as India strengthened its position in the third cricket Test against the West Indies by taking a healthy 104-run lead on day three in Roseau on Friday.
The feature in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy over the last two years is his calm approach even in difficult situations; there is no doubt that under him a young Indian team is continuing to evolve as a major force in world cricket.
India came up with a brilliant all-round display to thrash England by 127 runs in the second One-Day International, in Kochi, on Tuesday. The hosts first posted a competitive 285, riding on captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 72 and Ravindra Jadeja's 61, before the bowlers skittled out the visitors for a paltry 158 in just 36 overs to level the five-match series 1-1.
An unbeatable series lead on their mind, a confident India take on a demoralized West Indies in the second cricket Test in Bridgetown, Barbados, hoping to break a 58-year winless streak at the Kensington Oval.
Unimpressed with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership skills, former Australia batsman Mark Waugh termed the Indian as a "defensive captain", who just sits back and wait for the opposition to make mistakes.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave a frank assessment of his team's fourth day collapse to lose the first Test against Australia, saying the Melbourne Cricket Ground wicket was benign enough to reel in the victory target.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell does not find Mahendra Singh Dhoni good enough to be India's Test captain any more and said it is time to hand over the reins of the team to Virat Kohli.
India survived some jittery moments at the fag end before snatching a thrilling 21-run win over Sri Lanka in the first One-dayer of the five-match series in Hambantota on Saturday.
We now talk more about life than game: Hardik on meeting Dhoni
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh made no bones about his ambition to lead the Indian team, saying he will not shy away if the offer comes his way.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has urged the International Cricket Council to revisit the two new-ball rule in limited-over formats, saying it is "unfair" to finger spinners.
India's limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that the Virat Kohli-led Test team can regain it's top ranking by the end of the home season, which India will play host to New Zealand, England, Australia and Bangladesh in 13 Tests.
They might be without key senior players but even a second-string India would be hard to stop for the struggling West Indies when the two sides clash in a one-off Twenty20 match in Port of Spain on Saturday.
It's a clear call for India's bowlers and batsmen to raise their stocks. There ought to be bigger knocks, bigger stands and more firepower in the bowling arsenal.
India might have failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20, but four wins out of five matches have pushed the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side up by one place to the second spot in the latest T20 International team rankings, released on Wednesday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Team India is all set to be seen in brand new attire after their official apparel sponsor Nike unveiled their new One-Day kit in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Images from the fourth match of the Asia Cup between India and Pakistan in Dambulla, on Saturday.
Harbhajan Singh smashed a six to help India beat Pakistan by three wickets with one delivery to spare in a thrilling finish in the fourth match of the Asia Cup, in Dambulla, on Saturday. India's run-chase was set up by half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who added 98 runs in 108 deliveries for the third wicket.
Gearing up for the high-voltage clash against arch-rivals India, Pakistan captain Mohammed Hafeez said his team has the edge going into Sunday's World T20 Super Eight game after the morale-boosting win over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men in a warm-up match.
Riding on the huge win over England in the group stages of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, India jumped four places to claim the third position in the Reliance ICC T20 Championship table, which was released on Wednesday. India spanked defending champions England by 90 runs in a Group A match, which propelled Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men to 116 rating points.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, visibly dejected after his side was crushed 0-4 in the ODI series against New Zealand, said his team failed to adapt and improvise quickly enough against a team that was consistency personified, adding he is looking forward to the Test series.
Known for his passion for vehicles, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has added a brand new 'Hummer' worth around Rs one crore to his already rich collections. The H2 2009 Hummer will definitely get the pride of place among Dhoni's Toyota Corolla, Scorpio, Mitsubishi Pajero, Harley Davidson, Yamaha 650cc sports bike, Kawasaki Ninja and other two wheelers.
Inzamam-ul-Haq and Sourav Ganguly have said that India and Pakistan must play against each other regularly.
India will have to beat New Zealand in the upcoming ODI series to retain their top spot in the ICC rankings.
Sachin Tendulkar (160) scored his 42nd Test century as India amassed a 241-run first innings lead before reducing New Zealand to 75 for 3 in the second innings on Day 3 of the first Test.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni landed in Australia leading a marquee Indian team but now, midway through the Test series, they look rather like a slice of Swiss cheese with more holes than possibly can be plugged.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was fined 60 per cent of his match fee while his teammates were docked 30 per cent each for maintaining a slow over-rate during the drawn second Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown.
Former captain Rahul Dravid believes the number of all-rounders in the Indian team who can bowl part-time spin gives the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team an advantage in the World Cup commencing on February 19.
'He should go back to first-class cricket (domestic List A and T20) and play there'
India moved up a rung to fourth in the ICC Test rankings for teams, displacing Pakistan, while veteran Sachin Tendulkar rose three places to 17th in the batsmen's chart. Among the bowlers, off-spinner R Ashwin was rewarded for his match haul of 12 for 198 in the first Test against Australia with a jump to a career-best 11th.
Wednesday's match against Ireland is the last chance for Team India to test various combinations and players, but captain M S Dhoni said there will not be much experimentation -- the focus is on winning.
India rung in two changes, Munaf Patel and Dinesh Kaarthick coming in place of VRV Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni respectively, for the third Test against South Africa.
One of Dhoni's great attributes has been his ability to keep his head in the midst of the frenzy that often surrounds the sport in cricket-mad India.
It was unacceptable that 45 minutes of bad cricket resulted in India's shock exit from the World Cup, lamented captain Virat Kohli after his team suffered a heart-breaking semi-final defeat against New Zealand.
