If Eng lose the match tomorrow, the no.2 tag will stay with India as the cut off date is March 31st.
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If Eng lose the match tomorrow, the no.2 tag will stay with India as the cut off date is March 31st.
Vinod,
Andha pallaithaan Englandkaaranum Australiakaaranum konja naal munnadi kazhatti eduthaanunga.. :)
So much grey on Dhoni's face? :shock:
Seekiram puLLai kutti pethu settle aagaNum :yes:
Excellent Read :)
Simon Hughes: if Michael Jordan was sportsman of the 20th century then MS Dhoni is an early candidate for 21st
The greatest sportsman of the 20th century was a title won in most people eyes by either Mohammed Ali or Donald Bradman. My personal choice was Michael Jordan
Partly this is because I saw him at close quarters on a number of occasions, partly because of his amazing ability to consistently win crucial matches in the dying seconds. His Airness was voted the most valuable player in the NBA finals on six occasions and holds the NBA record for most points scored per match.
That perhaps conceals the exceptional sangfroid of his performances at critical stages of basketball matches. Almost every time I watched the Chicago Bulls in the finals, the score was level at something like 82-82 with about 30 seconds to go. One of his team-mates would give him the ball. Calmly he bounced it up and down in midcourt as the clock ticked down, 18….17…16…15. Then with about 10 seconds left he made his move.
Ducking inside one defender, sidling past another, weaving his way under the basket…7…6….5, then leaping and arching his back and displaying that incredible ‘hangtime’ that seemed to defy gravity to plop the ball into the basket, followed, almost immediately, by the klaxon that signalled the end the of the match.
Every player on the court, and most of the 15,000 people in the arena, knew what he was going to do. They had seen it all before. He knew they knew. And yet they were all powerless to stop him. He was propelled by a total, incontrovertible self-belief. There was a certainty, in fact a total inevitability about his match winning move.
I thought of Jordan when watching MS Dhoni win yet another match for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL on Thursday night. He left it late. He usually does. His team needed 46 from the last four overs, two of which were to be bowled by Dale Steyn, the no.1 bowler in the world.
We wondered this time if he had left it too late. But no. Steyn’s first ball was manhandled over deep mid wicket for a big six, and his second, a fast bouncer was deposited over long on for another with an extraordinary forehand smash. Fourteen came off that over. Then he lost the strike.
So now it was 28 from 12 balls. Fourteen an over. Steyn again. A yorker was whipped for two to deep square leg, another carved over cover for four, a length ball was clubbed over deep mid wicket for six. Steyn could only stand and admire.
Still 15 were needed from the last over. The ball was given to a young Indian all-rounder, Ashish Reddy, for his first over of the game. The idea was to take pace off the ball to inhibit Dhoni.
But the apprehension in Reddy’s face was clear, and he bowled a wide first ball. This is the effect Dhoni has on people. He missed with a big swish at the second – a clever leg break. Most batsmen would have started to get a bit agitated at this point. Not Dhoni. He simply removed his helmet, pinned his ears back and nailed the third ball, flat-batting it miles over long on for six.
Eight to win off four. Still tricky. Reddy attempted a leg stump yorker, but it was wide down the legside. Somehow Dhoni caught up with it and flicked it for four, pointing out to the unsighted umpire that he had got a bat on it, when accepting four wides would have made his situation easier. He biffed the fourth legitimate delivery back past the bowler sending it skimming into the fence. The match was won, and with two balls to spare. Dhoni strolled off, barely sweating. He had scored 41 of those 46 to win from just 12 balls faced.
As a one off it was remarkable enough. But the fact is that Dhoni keeps doing this – in one-day internationals, in IPL matches, even in world cup finals, and the stage doesn’t get any bigger than that. You watch him and marvel at his skill and bravado and unrelenting consistency. There is this total certainty in his body language, intensely reassuring to his team-mates and utterly demoralising to his opponents.
Like Jordan, there is an inevitability in what he is going to do. All who oppose him know exactly what his intentions are. And yet they seem inert, and he is unstoppable, almost invincible, fuelled as he is by the power of positive thought. And remember he keeps wicket and captains too, in all formats of the game.
If you were looking for an early candidate as sportsman of the 21st century, look no further.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cri...-for-21st.html
:notworthy: Dhoni's sportsmanship and honesty is his most attractive quality
Nammala mudinjathu :)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...11514855_n.jpg
the one nd only :bow:...
Whether a section likes it or not, MSD is the best ever captain India has ever had. Period.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/s...ntenttarget=no
'Captain Cool' Dhoni in a league of his own