While MS Dhoni has shown all his critics their place after a magnificent one-day tour Down Under, former captain Sourav Ganguly praised Virat Kohli for persevering with the legendary cricketer.
While MS Dhoni has shown all his critics their place after a magnificent one-day tour Down Under, former captain Sourav Ganguly praised Virat Kohli for persevering with the legendary cricketer.
Dhoni scored an unbeaten 87 off 114 balls to anchor India to a seven-wicket victory in the third ODI here to clinch the series 2-1. India won their maiden bilateral ODI series triumph in Australia.
Dhoni copped a lot of criticism from all quarters for his slow strike-rate at the start of the series, but has sounded back with three half-centuries in three matches to be adjudged Man of the Series.
Sourav Ganguly told a news channel: “Both players have played a lot of matches for India with Dhoni currently being the senior most member of the side. Most of all, what has been noted about the relationship is that Kohli has stood by his ex-captain’s side even when he has been under fire for the past year or so. He has time and again stressed that Dhoni is a big player and one of the strengths of his team.”
He added: “Very few captains back their players up to this extent. I admire Kohli for not abandoning Dhoni in the last 15-16 months. This is what makes a great team. No team can become great unless there is mutual respect and camaraderie between the big players.”
All pictures from AFP
1. Kohli on Dhoni
)
"As a team, we are very happy for MS Dhoni that he is amongst the runs because it is very important to get runs under your belt, to get that rhythm and confidence back especially when you are not playing so much international cricket. From that point of view, I think it is a great thing for the team that he has come here and scored in all three games. People say a lot of things, as an individual we know that there is no one more committed to Indian cricket than MS," Kohli said.
“I think people should let him have his space, he has contributed so much to the nation, and they should let him figure out things on his own about his game. He is one of the most intelligent cricketers. He is not someone who is not aware of what needs to be done. So as a team, we are totally in sync and very happy with what he is doing," the Indian captain added.
2. Dhoni trolls fans
)
MS Dhoni took the match ball with him after India won the third and final ODI against Australia in Melbourne on Friday.
The last time Dhoni did so, a video grab of him taking the match ball from the umpires, had gone viral with many predicting it as a sign of wicketkeeper-batsman's imminent retirement from international cricket.
Dhoni had not forgotten the incident and made a joke about it on Friday. When he passed the ball to batting coach Sanjay Bangar, he said ‘ball lelo nahi to bolega retirement le rahe hain (take the ball or they will say I am retiring)’.
3. Langer praises Dhoni
)
Australian coach Justin Langer Friday paid tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a superstar and an all-time great of the game after the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman produced a master class run-chase in India's ODI series clinching win here.
Langer was amazed by Dhoni's fitness at the age of 37 and said that playing against him has been a rich learning experience for his young side.
"He (Dhoni) is 37 years old. His running between the wickets is elite, and his fitness is elite. For him to run between the wickets for three days in a row, it was 40 degrees the other day, and play like that, he is a superstar of the game and that's what Australians should be aspiring to be -- superstars of the game," Langer said at the post-match press conference.
4. Great role models
)
"MS Dhoni, like Virat Kohli, like Cheteshwar Pujara in the Test series, they give us really great role models. MS Dhoni, his record, everything speaks for itself as a captain, batsman, wicketkeeper. He is literally an all-time great of the game and it has been, as hard as it is to lose, a privilege to play against those guys." Dhoni was dropped twice -- when on 0 and 74 -- and Langer said that cost his side the match. He also said that Dhoni gave his young side a batting tutorial on how to go about in such a run chase.
