Tag: MS Dhoni

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‘Dhoni is the trend setter’

T20 World Cup: 'Memorable moment' when Dhoni caught up with Gayle.

Veteran cricketer Chris Gayle picked MS Dhoni as the most successful captain of India, while heaping praise on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma…reports Asian Lite News

West Indies great Chris Gayle picked legendary cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the most successful captain for India, adding that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have also done their jobs well as the Indian skippers.

Dhoni captained India in a whopping 200 ODIs and won 110 matches out of those. India lost 74 ODIs under his leadership, while 16 games ended up as a no-result. He had led India to victory in three major International Cricket Council (ICC) trophies: the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

Moreover, Dhoni has played most international matches as captain 332 across all formats. Under him, India won 178 matches while losing 120. In the IPL, he led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to five titles.

“Dhoni has been the most successful captain for India. The guy has actually set the trend and overall, Rohit Sharma did his job well and Virat Kohli did his job pretty much,” Gayle told IANS.

Speaking about the toughest bowler he faced in his career, Gayle cheekily replied, “The toughest bowler, is he born or is he still alive? I’m not sure. So, all bowlers are tough because every bowler tries and gets a chance to pick a wicket.”

“Every baller can actually just take one ball to get here, but at the same time, it’s fun going up against some quality top-class fast bowlers and spinners as well. Every bowler is pretty much tough, but the ‘Universe Boss’ is just tougher,” he added.

Gayle, who is currently playing for Gujarat Giants in the Legends League Cricket, also shared his thoughts for the tournament and expressed his joy at sharing a dressing room with former India opener Shikhar Dhawan.

“I’ve been around for a month now and this is my first game. I joined the tournament late, but it was actually good fun last year and a bit of rain interrupted the tournament this year as well. So, I’ve been a setback with a wicked as well, low scoring as well; I want to see more entertainment. Hopefully they can work on that but overall, there are some quality retired places.

“So, it’s fantastic to actually be a part of this once again and to share a dressing room with the likes of Shikar Dhawan. Legends League is actually making up movements,” he said.

As the LLC enters its third leg, starting Sunday at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu before moving to Srinagar for the final, Gayle expressed his excitement about visiting Kashmir—a place in India he has never visited before.

“I’ve never been to Srinagar. It’s going to be my first time so that’s another tick on my list in India, one more state that I’m actually going to visit. So I’m actually looking forward to Srinagar. Is quite close to Kashmir… I think I’m looking forward to it because I’ve never been to that side of India. I’m really excited,” said Gayle.

The West Indian, who holds the record for the most sixes in IPL history, also expressed his desire to be part of an IPL franchise as a mentor or coach to share his knowledge and experience with young players.

“That’d be cool to be in the IPL. I’d like to be among a team, you know; that’ll be something cool. I’ve got loads of experience to share; I’ve been someone who has been dominant as well. I would love to be a part of it without a doubt to share my knowledge and my experience in the IPL.

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SBI Welcomes Dhoni as Brand Ambassador

MS Dhoni undergoes successful knee surgery in Mumbai: Report

As the brand ambassador of SBI, MS Dhoni will play a pivotal role in various marketing and promotional campaigns…reports Asian Lite News

India’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) has announced its collaboration with cricketing legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni, naming him as the bank’s official brand ambassador, the bank said in a statement.

Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI said, “We are pleased to onboard MS Dhoni as Brand Ambassador of SBI. Dhoni’s association with SBI as a satisfied customer makes him a perfect embodiment of our brand’s ethos. With this partnership, we aim to reinforce our commitment to serving the nation and our customers with trust, integrity, and unwavering dedication.”

As the brand ambassador of SBI, MS Dhoni will play a pivotal role in various marketing and promotional campaigns. His remarkable capacity to maintain composure in stressful situations and his renowned ability for clear thinking and rapid decision-making under duress makes him the ideal choice that resonates with SBI, to connect with its customers and stakeholders across the country, the bank said.

This association symbolizes the bank’s commitment to forging deeper connections with its customers, reflecting the values of reliability and leadership, it said. (ANI)

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Dhoni signals return to IPL next year

Under Dhoni’s leadership, CSK clinched their fifth record-equalling fifty IPL title…reports Asian Lite News

Following Chennai Super Kings’ remarkable victory in the IPL 2023, the triumphant captain, MS Dhoni, has left open the possibility of participating in the next season.

Speculations regarding Dhoni’s potential retirement have been circulating since the commencement of 2023 IPL, hinting that this edition could mark his final appearance in the tournament.

Under Dhoni’s leadership, CSK clinched their fifth record-equalling fifty IPL title, here on Monday.

In a final that was pushed to the reserve day owing to heavy rain, Chennai were set a revised target of 171 in 15 overs when the rain had stopped play a few balls into their innings after the Gujarat Titans had rode on a quickfire 96 by Sai Sudharsan and a half-century by Wriddhiman Saha to post 214/4 in 20 overs.

CSK looked in trouble as they needed 13 from the final over. Mohit Sharma bowled four superb deliveries, conceding just three runs before Ravindra Jadeja hammered a six and a four off the last two deliveries to seal a dramatic victory for CSK in the thriller.

After the win, when the CSK skipper came up for a chat at the post-match presentation, Harsha Bhogle did not waste any time and jumped right to the main question. “We meet again. We meet again like we so often do after these title wins. Should I ask you something or are you going to tell me something anyway?”

To which, Dhoni replied, “it’s better if you ask and then I reply.”

Bhogle said: “I asked you when you last won a trophy, about the legacy you leave behind in CSK. You said ‘I haven’t left it behind yet.”

Dhoni said, “Looking for an answer? Circumstantially if you see, this is the best time to announce my retirement. But the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year, the easy thing would be for me to say ‘Thank you very much’, but the tough thing for me is to work hard for another 9 months and come back and play at least 1 more season of IPL. A lot depends on the body, I have 6-7 months to decide. It will be more like a gift from my side, it’s not easy for me but that’s a gift.”

Dhoni openly acknowledged that tears welled up in his eyes upon hearing the crowd chant his name during the inaugural match of the 2023 Indian Premier League against the Titans at the same venue.

“You do get emotional simply because it’s the last part of my career, it started over here and the first game when I walked down everyone was chanting my name. My eyes were full of water and I just stood there in the dugout for a while. I realised I want to enjoy this.

“It was the same thing in Chennai, it was my last game over there but it will be good to come back and play whatever I can. I think they love me for what I am, they love that I am so grounded, I don’t try to portray something I’m not. Just keep it simple.”

The CSK skipper has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first cricketer to participate in 250 IPL matches. Additionally, he has captained the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an impressive 10 IPL finals, emerging victorious in five of those. It’s worth noting that in 2017, while representing the Rising Pune Supergiants, Dhoni also competed in the IPL final.

ALSO READ: Jadeja’s Heroics Give CSK IPL Glory

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CSK Beat KKR To Win 4th IPL Title

Faf du Plessis brought his A-game to play a knock of 86 runs and help CSK post a total of 192/3 against KKR, reports Asian Lite News

Faf du Plessis’ 86-run knock backed up by a spirited bowling performance helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 here at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.

With this, MS Dhoni’s lineup won the IPL trophy for the fourth time, having previously won the tournament in 2010, 2011, and 2018.

Chasing 193, KKR got off to a rollicking start as the opening duo of Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill put on 55 runs inside the first six overs. Iyer continued with his form and he brought up his half-century off just 31 balls in the 10th over of the innings. It seemed like the opening stand was finally broken by Ravindra Jadeja as he had Gill caught, but the replays showed the ball hit the ‘spider-cam’, and hence it was deemed as ‘dead ball’ and the batter got a reprieve. At the halfway mark, KKR’s score read 88/0.

However, Iyer (50) was finally sent back to the pavilion in the 11th over by Shardul Thakur and the 91-run opening stand came to an end. In the very same over, Nitish Rana was dismissed for a duck, and KKR was reduced to 93/2, still needing 100 runs for the win from 54 balls.

The next to fall for KKR were Sunil Narine (2), Shubman Gill (51), Dinesh Karthik (9), and Shakib Al Hasan (0) and the innings quickly derailed with Eoin Morgan’s side left at 120/6 in the 15th over, still needing 73 runs for the win. In the end, the task proved too much for KKR, and CSK ended up winning the IPL 2021 title.

Earlier, Faf du Plessis brought his A-game to play a knock of 86 runs and help CSK post a total of 192/3 against KKR. Sent into bat, CSK got off to a steady start as openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis put on 50 runs inside the first six overs. During this course, Gaikwad went on to leapfrog KL Rahul to become the leading run-scorer in this year’s IPL. The much-needed breakthrough to KKR was provided by Sunil Narine as he dismissed Gaikwad (32) in the 9th over, ending the 61-run opening stand.

Faf du Plessis continued on his merry way and he completed his half-century in the 11th over of the innings with CSK nicely poised at 97/1. Robin Uthappa scored 31 off 15 balls and he proved a perfect foil to Faf and the duo put on 63 runs for the second wicket. However, Narine once again got among the action as he dismissed Uthappa in the 14th over, reducing CSK to 124/2.

Moeen Ali next came out to bat and he also played the very same way and KKR bowlers were left searching for answers. In the final three overs, CSK managed to add 39 more runs, taking the score past the 190-run mark. For Dhoni’s side, Moeen remained unbeaten 37.

Brief Scores: CSK 192/3 (Faf du Plessis 86, Moeen Ali 37*; Sunil Narine 2-26) vs KKR 165/9 (Shubman Gill 51, Venkatesh Iyer 50; Shardul Thakur 3-38). (ANI)