Mahendra Singh Dhoni, pronunciation (born July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar) (now in Jharkhand) is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team.Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007–08 , the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008 and 2010 against Australia 2–0 and 2011 Cricket World Cup in which India beat every previous world cup winning team. His Test, ODI record is best among all the Indian captains to date. He also captained Chennai Super Kings to victory in the recent IPL 2011 and in the Champions League. He is now captain of India in all three forms of the game and also led the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Under Dhoni's captaincy India became the first team after a gap of more than 20 Years to whitewash Australia in a Test series. Dhoni also led the Indian team to the number one position in ICC rankings in Test cricket for the first time. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009. Dhoni was named as captain of Wisden's first-ever Dream Test XI Team in 2009 and has topped the list of world’s top 10 earning cricketers compiled by Forbes.[1] He was named as the captain of ICC World Test and ICC ODI teams for 2009. In the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, he hit 91 not out of just 79 balls to lead India to victory. For his outstanding batting in the final, he was awarded as the man of the match. The TIME magazine added him in its "Time 100" list of 100 most influential people of 2011.[2] According to the SportsPro magazine Dhoni is 10th most valuable brand in field of sports worldwide and number 1 among all Asian superstars.[3] Among captains who have led in at least 25 Tests, MS Dhoni has the best win-loss ratio (5.00). He is followed by Steve Waugh (4.55) and Mike Brearley (4.50). Dhoni has now led in five away-Test wins bringing him joint-second on the list of Indian captains with most wins in away Tests.

Personal life

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) in a Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi.[4] His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra. Dhoni had long hair which he has now shortened; he cut it because he wanted to look like his favourite film star John Abraham(actor). He likes bikes. A Hummer to add to the four cars and 23 high-speed motorcycles already parked in his garage in Ranchi. He endorses 15 brands from clothes to cold Drinks. He is also one of the highest income tax payers in

last year [5] Dhoni is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar.[6][7]Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali,(now the school is known as JVM, Shyamli, Ranchi) Ranchi, Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995–1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well.[5] Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.[8]Dhoni married Sakshi (née Rawat) on July 04, 2010. Sakshi Dhoni, a native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. At the time of their marriage, she was studying Hotel Management and was working as a trainee at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata. Both, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sakshi Rawat were school time friends and had studied together at DAV School, Shamily in Ranchi and their families also have very good relation. Father of Dhoni worked with Sakshi’s father in MECON, Ranchi. After the retirement of Sakshi’s father, their family shifted to their native place, Dehradun.The wedding stumped the media and the fans as it took place only a day after the couple got engaged.[9][10] Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu, a close friend of Dhoni, was quick to inform the media that the wedding was planned for months and was not a spur of the moment decision.[11]Playing style

Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is one of the number of wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team — Parthiv Patel, Ajay Ratra and Dinesh Karthik also followed this route. Dhoni, referred to as 'Mahi' by his friends, debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to Kenya in 2004. Along with Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.[citation needed]

Mahendra Singh Dhoni stumps a South African batsman during a match in Chennai in 2008.Dhoni tends to play mostly from the back foot with a pronounced bottom hand grip. He has a very fast hand speed through the ball which often results in the ball racing across the ground. From this initial stance his feet do not show much movement which sometimes results in chasing balls while not coming to the pitch of the ball or to some deliveries catching the inside edge.Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan in his fifth ODI match in 2005 — then the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. Later in the year, he broke his own record as well as set the current world record for the highest score in the second innings in ODI matches as he scored 183* against Sri Lanka. Dhoni's success in the limited overs format secured him a place in the test team. Consistent performances in ODI cricket

through the end of the 2005/06 season saw Dhoni briefly ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the ICC ODI ratings.[5] The shot that he plays is fondly called "The Helicopter Shot".Dhoni's form dipped through 2006 as India lost matches at the ICC Champions trophy, DLF Cup, away bilateral series against West Indies and South Africa. A return to form in the home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka in early 2007 proved to be an inaccurate indicator of Dhoni's form as India crashed out of the first round in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni was out for a duck in both India's losses. After the World Cup, Dhoni won the Man of the series award in the bilateral ODI tournament against Bangladesh. For the tour of England, Dhoni was named the ODI team vice-captain.[12]Domestic career

Junior cricketDhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998/99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) and Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357. Bihar's efforts were dwarfed by Punjab U-19's 839 with Dhoni's future national squad teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358.[13] Dhoni's contribution for the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches and 7 stumpings.[14] MS Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs in four matches as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.Bihar teamDhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season as an eighteen year old. He made a half century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against Assam cricket team.[15] Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century against Bengal in the 2000/01 season in a losing cause.[16] Apart from the century, his performance in the 2000/01[17] did not include another score over fifty and in 2001/02 season he scored just five fifty in each season in four Ranji matches.[18] Dhoni's performance for the 2002/03 season in the Ranji Trophy included three half centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy competition as he started winning recognition for his lower-order run contribution as well as hard hitting batting style.In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI trophy. He was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy for the year and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East zone.[19] He scored a fighting half century in the second innings in a losing cause.[20]The future captain was discovered via the BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative TRDW. Dhoni was discovered by TRDO PC Podar, captain of Bengal in the 1960s, when he saw Dhoni play for Jharkhand at a match in Jamshedpur in 2003, and sent a report to the National Cricket Academy.[21]India A team

He was recognized for his efforts in the 2003/04 season, especially in the ODI format and was picked for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya.[22] Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match.[23] In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Dhoni helped India 'A' chase their target of 223 against Pakistan 'A' with a half-century.[24] Stressing on his performance, he scored back to back centuries – 120[25] and 119*[26] against the same squad. Dhoni scored 362 runs in 7 matches (6 innings, Ave:72.40), and his performance in the series received attention from the then captain – Sourav Ganguly[27] and Ravi Shastri amongst others. However, the India 'A' team coach Sandeep Patil recommended Karthik for a place in the Indian squad as wicket-keeper/batsman.[28]Indian Premier LeagueM.S.Dhoni was contracted by the Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 Million USD. This made him the most expensive player in the IPL for the first season Auctions which was closely followed by Andrew Symonds. Dhoni is the present captain of the Chennai Super Kings team.

Cricket performance

ODI Cricket

ODI career records by opposition

# Opponent Matches Runs Average High Score 100s 50s Catches Stumping1 Africa XI[64] 3 174 87.00 139* 1 0 3 32 Australia 23 690 43.12 124 1 3 26 93 Bangladesh 9 247 61.75 101* 1 1 9 64 Bermuda 1 29 29.00 29 0 0 1 05 England 18 501 33.40 96 0 3 19 76 Hong Kong 1 109 - 109* 1 0 1 37 New Zealand 9 269 67.25 84* 0 2 7 28 Pakistan 23 920 54.11 148 1 7 22 69 Scotland 1 - - - - - 2 -10 South Africa 10 196 24.50 107 0 1 7 111 Sri Lanka 38 1514 63.08 183* 2 12 38 912 West Indies 18 499 49.90 95 0 3 16 413 Zimbabwe 2 123 123.00 67* 0 2 0 1Total 156 5271 51.67 183* 7 34 151 51

ODI Centuries:

ODI centuries# Runs Match Against Stadium City/Country Year1 148 5 Pakistan ACA-VDCA Stadium Vishakapatnam, India 20052 183* 22 Sri Lanka Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur, India 20053 139* 74 Africa XI[64] MA Chidambaram Stadium Chennai, India 20074 109* 109 Hong Kong National Stadium Karachi, Pakistan 20085 124 143 Australia VCA Stadium Nagpur, India 20096 107 152 Sri Lanka VCA Stadium Nagpur, India 20097 101* 156 Bangladesh Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium Dhaka, Bangladesh 2010

ODI recordsOn 31 October 2005 Dhoni scored 183* runs of just 145 balls against Sri Lanka in Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, which is the highest score made by any batsman in the second innings (surpassing Lara's previous record of 153).[35]The innings featured 10 Sixes - the most by an Indian in an innings, and the fourth highest in ODI cricket after the 12 scored by Xavier Marshall of the West Indies, and 11 scored by both ST Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi.[65]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. However this was later broken by Herschelle Gibbs (126 runs in boundaries – 21x4; 7x6) against Australia during his knock of 175.The score of 183* equalled Ganguly's innings during the 1999 Cricket World Cup as the highest individual score against Sri Lanka.Among Indian batsmen who have played more than 50 matches, Dhoni has the highest average.[66] Dhoni's batting average is also the highest amongst wicketkeepers in ODIs.In June 2007, Dhoni(139*) and Mahela Jayawardene(107)[64] set a new world record for the sixth wicket partnership of 218 runs against Africa XI during the Afro-Asia Cup.[67]Dhoni passed Shaun Pollock's record for the highest individual score by a number seven batsman in one-day internationals during his unbeaten innings of 139.[68] 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 14 November 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 24 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 Performance1 Sri Lanka in India ODI Series 2005/06 346 Runs (7 Matches & 5 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); 6 Catches & 3 Stumpings2[69] India in Bangladesh ODI Series 2007 127 Runs (2 Matches & 2 Innings, 1x50); 1 Catches & 2 Stumpings3 India in Sri Lanka ODI Series 2008 193 Runs (5 Matches & 5 Innings, 2x50); 3 Catches & 1 Stumping4 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 Performance1 Pakistan Vishakapatnam 2004/05 148 (123b, 15x4, 4x6); 2 Catches2 Sri Lanka Jaipur 2005/06 183* (145b, 15x4, 10x6); 1 Catch3 Pakistan Lahore 2005/06 72 (46b, 12x4); 3 Catches4 Bangladesh Mirpur 2007 91* (106b, 7x4); 1 Stumping5 Africa XI[64] Chennai 2007 139* (97b, 15x4, 5x6); 3 Stumpings6 Australia Chandigarh 2007 50* ( 35 b, 5x4 1x6); 2 Stumpings7 Pakistan Guwahati 2007 63, 1 Stumping8 Sri Lanka Karachi 2008 67, 2 Catches9 Sri Lanka Colombo (RPS) 2008 76, 2 Catches10 New Zealand McLean Park, Napier 2009 84*, 1 Catch & 1 Stumping11 West Indies Beausejour Stadium, St. Lucia 2009 46*, 2 Catches & 1 Stumping12 Australia Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur 2009 124, 1 Catches, 1 Stumping & 1 Runout13 Bangladesh Mirpur 2010 101* (107b, 9x4)14 Sri Lanka Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai ICC World Cup FInals 2011 91 Not Out

Test cricket

Test performance:

Test career records by opposition

# Opponents Matches Runs Average High Score 100s 50s Catches Stumpings1 Australia 8 448 34.46 92 0 4 18 62 Bangladesh 2 104 104.00 51* 0 1 6 13 England 8 397 33.08 92 0 4 24 34 New Zealand 2 155 77.50 56* 0 2 11 15 Pakistan 5 323 64.60 148 1 2 9 16 South Africa 7 218 27.25 132* 1 1 6 17 Sri Lanka 6 363 60.50 110 2 1 15 18 West Indies 4 168 24.00 69 0 1 13 4Total 42 2176 40.29 148 4 16 102 18

Test centuries:

Test centuries# Runs Match Against Stadium City/Country Year1 148 5 Pakistan Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad, Pakistan 20062 110 38 Sri Lanka Sardar Patel Stadium Ahmedabad, India 20093 100* 40 Sri Lanka Brabourne Stadium Mumbai, India 20094 132* 42 South Africa Eden Gardens Kolkata, India 2010

Man of the Match Awards:S No Opponent Venue Season Match Performance1 Australia Mohali 2008 92 & 68*

Test recordsDhoni'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.[70]Under Dhoni's captaincy, India defeated Australia by 320 runs on 21st Oct'08, biggest ever win in terms of runs for India.[71]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 did not lose a test match until the first test versus South Africa in Nagpur in Feb 2010. As a captain, he holds a record for longest unbeaten run in tests from his debut, 11 tests (8 wins and 3 draws). This record crossed former Australian captain Warwick Armstrong's run of 10 unbeaten tests (8 wins, 2 draws) from debut. In Dhoni's streak, however, there was a period of injury in which Virender Sehwag led the side (for 3 draws). So India's unbeaten streak was for 14 tests, of which 11 were Dhoni's.Among captains who have led in at least 25 Tests, MS Dhoni has the best win-loss ratio (5.00). He is followed by Steve Waugh (4.55) and Mike Brearley (4.50). Dhoni has now led in five away-Test wins bringing him joint-second on the list of Indian captains with most wins in away Tests.

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