India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that he never thought his spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will have such a 'bad day' but also praised Australian skipper Steve Smith and George Bailey for playing exceptionally well in the middle overs. Ashwin (2/69 in 9 overs) and Jadeja (0/61 in 9 overs) together gave away 129 runs in 18 overs as India lost the opening ODI by five wickets. "When I was speaking about sharing the load before the match, I was speaking about when the fast-bowlers don't have a very good day then I will have to use the spinner. "I never thought it will be the spinners who will have a very bad day and the others will have to share that responsibility," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference.
It remains to be seen if reserve opener Ajinkya Rahane, the only player not to get a game in this series, would be included in place of Rohit Sharma or Shikhar Dhawan.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Committee of Administrators (COA) on Tuesday doubled the annual retainership amount to Rs 2 crore for seven Grade A cricketers, including captain Virat Kohli and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The selectors may allow the India off-spinner to complete his remaining two matches for Worcestershire in English county cricket.
Kohli had to wait for 14 matches for his first century (109), finally breaching the 100-run mark against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2009.
An under pressure India will face their stiffest test in recent times when they try to bounce back in the three-match ODI series against a refreshed New Zealand in the must-win second game in Pune, on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli became the fastest to score 5000 ODI runs as captain.
India retained the No 1 spot in the latest Reliance ODI team rankings while Virat Kohli maintained the number two position with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni static at the seventh place in the batting chart released in Dubai.
Even after sealing a quarter-final berth captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is averse to changes in the team for their next World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Auckland on Saturday.
Under fire, Dhoni's men will look to plug all loopholes as the in-form Bangla tigers aim for a clean sweep
When not playing cricket, Dhoni wears many hats apart from being a batsman, wicketkeeper and sometimes a bowler.
A ruthless India completed a nine-wicket demolition of the West Indies in the fifth and final ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday for their sixth successive series win at home.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni left open the possibility of playing in the 2019 World Cup in England, after India was beaten by Australia by 95 runs in the semi-final in Sydney on Thursday, saying he will take a call after the Twenty20 World Cup next year.
"To me it was a real surprise. I thought he will play for one or two more years in Test cricket as he's a very fit person," said former captain and ex-chief selector Vengsarkar.
Taking full responsibility for the inexplicable collapse against Australia in the fourth ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he should have steered the team home after fluent centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.
Selection committee looking to continue building towards World T20 in Australia in October 2020.
Steve Smith and George Bailey's brilliant knocks overshadowed Rohit Sharma's magnificent 171 as Australia beat India by five wickets in the first ODI of the five-match series in Perth on Tuesday.
A buoyant India will look to cash in on South Africa's injury woes, compounded by the loss of captain Faf du Plessis, when the two sides meet in the second One-Day International in Centurion on Sunday.
India may be way behind Australia in the Test rankings, but the World Cup holders are just 0.2 points behind the top-of-the-table Kangaroos in the ODI rankings. According to the latest ICC rankings, Australia and India are on 117 rating points and the scores will only be settled in the upcoming tri-series involving the two teams and England, starting January 18 next year.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows the introduction of broadcast technology has enhanced the viewing experience for fans but the Indian skipper has called for restraint after the overhead 'Spidercam' interfered with play in Saturday's one-dayer against Australia.
Amit Mishra produced a magical spell to send New Zealand crashing for a lowly 79 as India won by a massive margin of 190 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2, in the fifth and final One-Day International in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez completed Spain's domination of the race walks at the World Athletics Championships on Thursday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have a massive role in India's bid to regain the World Cup, coach Ravi Shastri said, harping on the veteran's ability to influence the game's little moments.
Former India skipper Kapil Dev feels it is too early to compare Virat Kohli's Test captaincy to that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's as the leadership role is still very new to the team's batting star.
For India, who are considered as title contenders, a good showing in the Asia Cup will give them the much-needed boost going into the World T20.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly lauded Virat Kohli for taking the team forward in all forms of cricket during his stint as India skipper, but said his decision to quit Test captaincy was a personal one.
- 'The aggressive approach was the right one. The approach will remain the same' - 'I feel what he (Kohli) did throughout the Adelaide Test was really great'
After being comprehensively thrashed by 79 runs in the opening ODI of the three-match series, India, for the first time, are staring at the ignominy of series defeat against the proverbial minnows of world cricket.
However, no Indian bowler figure in the top-10 list. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (13th) is the lone Indian in top 15.
'It is only a short series, but we think we can learn a lot from it'
Suresh Raina has come out in full support of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The fourth One-Day International between India and Australia was abandoned in Ranchi, because of a wet outfield caused by heavy rain.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn is wary of India's fightback but says his team is motivated to seal the one-day series on Thursday and complete a dominating overseas victory.
Australia great Ian Chappell says Virat Kohli is an exceptional captain who has carried the Indian team to a higher level, whereas England's Joe Root is a "fine batter but poor captain".
'I told Sachin that if both of you and Dravid do not want to lead the side, how will we go about things? Then Sachin told me that we have one more player in the country who could lead the side and his name is none other than MS Dhoni.'
India skipper Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels the 32-year-old cricketer will be more "determined and focused" to win the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The mountain of runs that he has plundered so far in first-class cricket has ensured that the focus will be firmly on Delhi youngster Rishabh Pant as India 'A' take on the visiting England XI, in the second and final warm-up match in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Having watched Virat Kohli lead Royal Challengers Bangalore from close quarters, West Indies' T20 captain Darren Sammy feels that the dashing batsman loves to lead by example which is in contrast to his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni's quiet way of functioning.
Virat Kohli held centrestage with a delightful unbeaten 85 after a collective bowling effort as India cruised to an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Dharamsala on Sunday. After bowling out New Zealand for 190 in 43.5 overs, India reached the target in a mere 33.1 overs in a match that turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
Joginder Sharma bowled a memorable final over to help India edge Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final and win the inaugural T20 World Cup in Johannesburg in 2007.
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