'It felt good (to get to 40 ODI hundreds) but it is just a number'
Among other Indian batsmen, skipper Rahul Dravid also improved his position by moving a step up to 15th.
Former pace bowler Ajit Agarkar said that the biggest challenge for new India captain Rohit Sharma will be to maintain his fitness and play every game till next year's ODI World Cup.
Rohit Sharma once again showed his class in the limited overs format with a stylish unbeaten 124 as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead with a six-wicket victory in the third ODI, which was marred by unruly crowd behaviour, in Pallekele, on Sunday.
From Michael Clarke to Rohit Sharma, the global cricket fraternity on Thursday woke up singing paeans to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hours after India's most successful skipper sprang a surprise by stepping down from limited overs captaincy. Former England skipper Michel Vaughan described Dhoni as one of the greatest captains to have ever led a cricket team. "Even one of the greatest captains of all time decides enough is enough ... Well done @msdhoni on an incredible leadership term," Vaughan wrote on his Twitter page.
A potential conflict of interest situation could have played in Dhoni's mind when he decided to quit, report Sai Manish and N Sundaresha Subramanian.
An overwhelming win over Pakistan may have brought a lot of cheer to the Indian cricket team after an indifferent Australian Summer, but there are a few grey areas that are yet to be addressed by the side, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor run with the bat.
All eyes will be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is expected to lay out his future plans upon return amid speculation that he might retire from international cricket.
The India ODI and T20 captain will be next seen in action in October during the limited overs leg of the series against New Zealand.
Gut feeling and a sense of timing has always marked Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision making process in his illustrious captaincy stint and he once again showed that when he 'stumped' one and all with his decision to step down as skipper of India's limited overs team. No one knows whether Dhoni has read the poem 'Invictus' or watched Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman recite it in his deep baritone: "I am the Master of My fate, I am the Captain of My soul". The context of the poem may have been different but in spirit somewhere, Dhoni may find it eerily similar to his thought process leading up to the decision last night.
Kohli, the world's No 1 Test and ODI batsman, led India through a historic tour of Australia, during which the team won the Test and ODI rubbers and drew the T20 International series.
Images from the fifth One-Day International between Australia and India in Sydney, on Saturday.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said the team had found a 'perfect' bowling all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja, who once again produced a spirited show to help the hosts comfortably beat England by seven wickets in the third ODI in Ranchi on Saturday.
Opener Rohit Sharma smashed an unbeaten 124 to help India overcome a top-order wobble and register a series-clinching six-wicket victory in the third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Sunday.
India will eye another dominant performance against hosts England in a three- match ODI series
Praising centurion Virat Kohli for his superb batting in the team's series-levelling win against South Africa on Thursday, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that it was the first game in which his team did well in all the three departments.
Shoaib Akhtar said he hopes MS Dhoni gets a resounding farewell despite his resolute silence on what the future holds. Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal in July, was preparing to make a much-anticipated comeback with the IPL, which is now unlikely to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lauding Mahendra Singh Dhoni's brave leadership, the legendary Kapil Dev felt it is the Indian captain's confidence in his players' ability that makes them believe they can retain the World Cup.
The confidence Kedar Jadhav has in his bowling comes from the fact that Mahendra Singh Dhoni used him as a surprise weapon during the ODI series at home against New Zealand last year.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in 50-overs cricket, Dhoni will join India's elite 'Club 300', which has Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (344), Mohammed Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (311) and Yuvraj Singh (304).
Talented Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who recently led the India A squad to a tri-series win in South Africa, made a comeback to the team.
In the ICC ODI team rankings, India remains in fifth place.
Indian cricket team will not just be looking to win a third ODI global title but also look at saving the '50-over format' which has been battling identity crisis for at least five years now.
Tahir with figures of 4 for 27 was one of the architects of CSK's victory on the day.
'Parthiv has to bat at No. 6, and in that position it is a different ball game.'
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni is overstaying his time as India's limited over skipper and it is having debilitating effect on the Indian team.
Looking back at the five-match ODI series, rising South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada termed his one-on-one battle with Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the of opening contest in Kanpur as his best display of the series.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who missed the last ODI series in Sri Lanka, are set to return to the Indian limited overs squad when the national selectors meet in Nagpur on Wednesday to name the team for the seven-match series against England commencing on November 14 at Rajkot.
India are on course for an effortless ODI series whitewash over Zimbabwe but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he is concerned about the lack of opportunities for most of his batsmen in the tour so far. India posted an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the second One-day International to claim an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here. "So far, only three of our top batsmen have got the chance to play. In the batting department we would like to make changes," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, named the player of the series following India's 5-0 whitewash over England in the ODI tournament, jumped two places to reach the third spot in the latest ICC rankings on Wednesday.
There have always been question marks about temperament of Kohli. However, BCCI has always stood by him. Precisely what happened in Dhoni's case when Srinivasan was in charge. If this isn't a clear indication, what is?
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has advised India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be more flexible while deciding the playing eleven.
'I don't think there are any issues because you see the knocks around, he is striking the ball beautifully and the strike rate is close to 100, if not over 100'
India promoted Dhoni up the order in the first T20 on Wednesday and the former skipper responded the team management's decision by making an unbeaten 39 off just 22 balls.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pointed out that performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) should not be the base for players being selected for Test and ODI matches.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form has been on the wane and Virat Kohli is hoping that the next 24 ODIs will help the wicketkeeper-batsman get his mojo back in the limited overs format.
Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer backed under-fire limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the time has not yet come to write him off, in Kolkata, on Monday.
The continued suspense over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future has revived the debate on whether the biggest icons in Indian cricket know when the time is right to bow out of the scene gracefully.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was disappointed that the batsmen failed to fire as a unit in the five-match ODI series against South Africa, which concluded at Centurion on Sunday with the Proteas eking out a 33-run win in the final one-dayer to clinch the series 3-2.
Propped up by the massive series-levelling win in the second ODI, India will look to keep the momentum going when they go into the third one-dayer against England in Ranchi on Friday, hoping that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's first match in his hometown will prove lucky.
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