Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most successful captains of India. With a little bit of luck, a dash of charm and a lot of thinking out of the box, he is become an icon of modern India.
There are a lot of things that make Dhoni the person almost endearing. His modesty and his ability to maintain composure -- be it after winning the T20 World Championship in 2007 or the 2011 Cricket World Cup -- has seen him gain respect of young and old alike.
But Dhoni has also had to face a few hard times -- the Sehwag controversy in 2009 and the run-ins with umpires and opposition regarding DRS. But, with a dollop of luck, he has come out of these contentious situations unscathed.
So, luck does play a huge factor in Dhoni'skarma, and that the man is superstitions is evident from his love for the number '7'.
With Dhoni's birthday falling on July 7 (7/7), the digit has been of great significance to his life.
Be it in India colours or in the IPL, Dhoni has the number 7 printed on the back of his jersey.
You can say that the number has definitely brought him a much-deserved share of good fortune.
If one can recount correctly, Dhoni hit jackpot very early in his career as captain. Under his leadership India won the T20 World Championship, beating Pakistan in the final.
That was the year 2007. Here again the '7' factor is evident.
Another interesting fact that shows Dhoni's connection with the number is the date on which he was appointed India captain.
The announcement of his elevation to captaincy was made on a rather auspicious date for the Ranchi lad -- August 7, 2007.
The mystery of the lucky number '7' does not end there. Dhoni kicked off his international career, batting at No 7 -- in Tests and ODI's. What more is there to prove that the number has been his fortune maker all these years?
Dhoni's love for the number is not just restricted to the cricket field. The dashing Indian captain wears a diamond-studded No 7 pendant, to further prove his loyalty to the number.
A soccer-lover, one of Dhoni's favourite footballers is Cristiano Ronaldo. Incidentally, like Dhoni, Ronaldo also sports a No 7 jersey. Is it the number that connects them? May be!
Mahi is widely known as a speed freak and has a penchant for bikes and cars. His garage got a recent resident in a Hummer and the number 7 plays a part here too.
Be it his Pajero, Scorpio, or his bike collection, all have the '7' connection. The number plates of this fabulous fleet of cars have 0007 on them.
Is Dhoni inspired by the James Bond franchise? Your guess is as good as ours!
As Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 30 on Thursday, Rajneesh Gupta jots down some facts and figures that have made the India captain a success story.
Full name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born: 7 July 1981 at Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand)
Type: Right hand batsman, Right arm medium bowler, Wicketkeeper
Major Teams: India, India 'A', India Blue, Indian Board President's XI, India Seniors, Bihar, East Zone, , Jharkhand, Rest of India, Chennai Super Kings, Asia XI.
First Class Debut: For Bihar v Assam at Jamshedpur, 1999-00 (Ranji Trophy) -- batted at number 7; made 40 off 68 balls in the first innings and 68* off 89 balls in the second innings; effected one stumping.
Test Debut: v Sri Lanka at Chennai, 2005-06 batted at number 7; made 30 off 54 balls in first innings; did not bat in second innings; took one catch.
One-Day (List 'A') Debut: For Bihar v Assam at Jamshedpur, 1999-00 (Ranji Trophy One-Dayer) did not bat; took one catch.
One-Day International Debut: v Bangladesh at Chittagong, 2004-05; batted at number 7; was run-out on 0 off the very first ball; did not make any dismissal.
Twenty20 Debut: For India v South Africa at Johannesburg, 2006-07 (Twenty20 international) -- batted at number 4; made 0 off 2 balls; took one catch and was involved in a run-out.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni holds the unique distinction of captaining India in an international match without ever captaining his home states Bihar and Jharkhand in Ranji Trophy or any other important domestic cricket match. In fact he had the experience of captaining a side only once before leading India in ICC Twenty20 Championship in 2007. That game was between Indians and England A at Northampton.
- Only captain to win World Cup in both formats of the game ODIs & T20Is.
- Only the eighth Indian captain (after Polly Umrigar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Anil Kumble) to start his captaincy stint with a win. Dhoni had made his captaincy debut against South Africa at Kanpur in April 2008, which India won by 8 wickets.
- Only the second Indian captain (after Sourav Ganguly) to win his debut Tests both at home and abroad. He led India for the first time in an overseas Test against New Zealand at Hamilton in March 2009, which India won by 10 wickets.
- Hasn't yet faced a series defeat in Test cricket.
- Has won all the four Tests against Australia in which he has led India!
- Is the only Indian captain to win both Test and bilateral ODI series against Australia.
- Under his captaincy India became first team in Test history to make successful fourth innings chase in three consecutive Tests.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India had never lost a test match till the first Test versus South Africa in Nagpur in Feb 2010.
- Led India to number one position in ICC rankings in Test cricket for the first time.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India reached their highest Test score of 726 9 (decl) during Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009.
- Became the first Indian captain to win a Test match on New Zealand soil in 33 years when he led India to 10-wicket win at Hamilton in March 2009. Before him, Sunil Gavaskar had won a Test at New Zealand soil way back in January 1976.
- Became the first Indian captain to win a Test series against New Zealand in New Zealand since Nawab of Pataudi, Jun. who led India to a 1-0 win in February 1968.
- First Indian captain to make a clean-sweep in a Test series (of at least 2 matches) against Australia.
-Under Dhoni's captaincy, India made 387-4 in the fourth innings of Chennai Test to beat England -- their second highest successful 4th innings chase in Test cricket.
- Only Indian captain to win a triangular ODI series in Australia.(Sunil Gavaskar had led India to World Championship of Cricket in 1985, but it was a multilateral tournament and not a triangular series).
- Only Indian captain to win bilateral ODI series in New Zealand.
- Only Indian captain to win bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka.
- Only wicketkeeper to captain his side in 100 ODIs.
- Only the third player to captain India in 100 ODIs after Mohammad Azharuddin (174) and Sourav Ganguly (146).
There are a lot of things that make Dhoni the person almost endearing. His modesty and his ability to maintain composure -- be it after winning the T20 World Championship in 2007 or the 2011 Cricket World Cup -- has seen him gain respect of young and old alike.
But Dhoni has also had to face a few hard times -- the Sehwag controversy in 2009 and the run-ins with umpires and opposition regarding DRS. But, with a dollop of luck, he has come out of these contentious situations unscathed.
So, luck does play a huge factor in Dhoni'skarma, and that the man is superstitions is evident from his love for the number '7'.
With Dhoni's birthday falling on July 7 (7/7), the digit has been of great significance to his life.
Be it in India colours or in the IPL, Dhoni has the number 7 printed on the back of his jersey.
You can say that the number has definitely brought him a much-deserved share of good fortune.
If one can recount correctly, Dhoni hit jackpot very early in his career as captain. Under his leadership India won the T20 World Championship, beating Pakistan in the final.
That was the year 2007. Here again the '7' factor is evident.
Another interesting fact that shows Dhoni's connection with the number is the date on which he was appointed India captain.
The announcement of his elevation to captaincy was made on a rather auspicious date for the Ranchi lad -- August 7, 2007.
The mystery of the lucky number '7' does not end there. Dhoni kicked off his international career, batting at No 7 -- in Tests and ODI's. What more is there to prove that the number has been his fortune maker all these years?
Dhoni's love for the number is not just restricted to the cricket field. The dashing Indian captain wears a diamond-studded No 7 pendant, to further prove his loyalty to the number.
A soccer-lover, one of Dhoni's favourite footballers is Cristiano Ronaldo. Incidentally, like Dhoni, Ronaldo also sports a No 7 jersey. Is it the number that connects them? May be!
Mahi is widely known as a speed freak and has a penchant for bikes and cars. His garage got a recent resident in a Hummer and the number 7 plays a part here too.
Be it his Pajero, Scorpio, or his bike collection, all have the '7' connection. The number plates of this fabulous fleet of cars have 0007 on them.
Is Dhoni inspired by the James Bond franchise? Your guess is as good as ours!
As Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 30 on Thursday, Rajneesh Gupta jots down some facts and figures that have made the India captain a success story.
Full name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born: 7 July 1981 at Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand)
Type: Right hand batsman, Right arm medium bowler, Wicketkeeper
Major Teams: India, India 'A', India Blue, Indian Board President's XI, India Seniors, Bihar, East Zone, , Jharkhand, Rest of India, Chennai Super Kings, Asia XI.
First Class Debut: For Bihar v Assam at Jamshedpur, 1999-00 (Ranji Trophy) -- batted at number 7; made 40 off 68 balls in the first innings and 68* off 89 balls in the second innings; effected one stumping.
Test Debut: v Sri Lanka at Chennai, 2005-06 batted at number 7; made 30 off 54 balls in first innings; did not bat in second innings; took one catch.
One-Day (List 'A') Debut: For Bihar v Assam at Jamshedpur, 1999-00 (Ranji Trophy One-Dayer) did not bat; took one catch.
One-Day International Debut: v Bangladesh at Chittagong, 2004-05; batted at number 7; was run-out on 0 off the very first ball; did not make any dismissal.
Twenty20 Debut: For India v South Africa at Johannesburg, 2006-07 (Twenty20 international) -- batted at number 4; made 0 off 2 balls; took one catch and was involved in a run-out.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni holds the unique distinction of captaining India in an international match without ever captaining his home states Bihar and Jharkhand in Ranji Trophy or any other important domestic cricket match. In fact he had the experience of captaining a side only once before leading India in ICC Twenty20 Championship in 2007. That game was between Indians and England A at Northampton.
- Only the eighth Indian captain (after Polly Umrigar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Anil Kumble) to start his captaincy stint with a win. Dhoni had made his captaincy debut against South Africa at Kanpur in April 2008, which India won by 8 wickets.
- Only the second Indian captain (after Sourav Ganguly) to win his debut Tests both at home and abroad. He led India for the first time in an overseas Test against New Zealand at Hamilton in March 2009, which India won by 10 wickets.
- Hasn't yet faced a series defeat in Test cricket.
- Has won all the four Tests against Australia in which he has led India!
- Is the only Indian captain to win both Test and bilateral ODI series against Australia.
- Under his captaincy India became first team in Test history to make successful fourth innings chase in three consecutive Tests.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India had never lost a test match till the first Test versus South Africa in Nagpur in Feb 2010.
- Led India to number one position in ICC rankings in Test cricket for the first time.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India reached their highest Test score of 726 9 (decl) during Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009.
- Became the first Indian captain to win a Test match on New Zealand soil in 33 years when he led India to 10-wicket win at Hamilton in March 2009. Before him, Sunil Gavaskar had won a Test at New Zealand soil way back in January 1976.
- Became the first Indian captain to win a Test series against New Zealand in New Zealand since Nawab of Pataudi, Jun. who led India to a 1-0 win in February 1968.
- First Indian captain to make a clean-sweep in a Test series (of at least 2 matches) against Australia.
-Under Dhoni's captaincy, India made 387-4 in the fourth innings of Chennai Test to beat England -- their second highest successful 4th innings chase in Test cricket.
- Only Indian captain to win a triangular ODI series in Australia.(Sunil Gavaskar had led India to World Championship of Cricket in 1985, but it was a multilateral tournament and not a triangular series).
- Only Indian captain to win bilateral ODI series in New Zealand.
- Only Indian captain to win bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka.
- Only wicketkeeper to captain his side in 100 ODIs.
- Only the third player to captain India in 100 ODIs after Mohammad Azharuddin (174) and Sourav Ganguly (146).
