IPL

The Chennai Super Kings have retained 4 players for the 2011 Indian Premier League which include MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel. On 8 January 2011, the Chennai Super Kings bought Doug Bollinger, Michael Hussey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dwayne Bravo, Wriddhiman Saha, George Bailey, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sudeep Tyagi, Suraj Randiv, Ben Hilfenhaus and Francois du Plessis in the IPL Player Auction for the fourth edition, looking to retain the same core team that performed for them from 2008 to 2010. Also after the World Cup, Chennai Super Kings signed New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee as a replacement to the injured Ben Hilfenhaus after his stellar 18 wicket tournament.

The Super Kings started their IPL 2011 campaign with a thrilling win against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai by just 2 runs but lost their next game to the Kings XI Punjab after a stellar innings byPaul Valthaty.Michael Hussey's unbeaten 83 helped them to defeat the Royal Challengers Bangalore before losing to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala in a rain affected match at the latter's home ground. This match was followed by another thriller against Mumbai Indians in which the latter took the game away with a brilliant bowling and fielding display.But they won their next two matches against Pune Warriors India both, home and away. Marking their fourth win in the series thanks to a brilliant spell of 3–21 by man of the match Doug Bollinger and a match winning partnership between Subramaniam Badrinath and Suresh Raina.They had their third straight win against the Deccan Chargers , thanks to the all-rounded effort by Albie Morkel taking three crucial wickets for 38 and scoring 19 of just 6 deliveries at a Strike rate of 317. They had their fifth straight home victory against the Rajasthan Royals.Chasing a modest target of 148 , Michael Hussey striking again with the bat scoring 79* off just 55 balls taking his side to a comfortable 8-wicket win against the royals. This was followed by a defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders in a rain-affected match at the Eden Gardens.Then two days later, the batting came good in a crucial game against the Rajasthan Royals which they won comprehensively by 63 runs. The Chennai Super Kings extended their home record by defeating the Delhi Daredevils and moving to the top of the table. The Super Kings played their last home game against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala which they won by eleven runs.With this win The Super Kings created a new record in the history of the Indian Premier League by winning all matches played at their home venue which no other team has previously achieved. They finished second in the points table despite their loss to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their final league game. They won against RCB in the first Qualifier thus making it straight to the Finals. This was the 3rd time in 4 seasons that they have entered the finals in the IPL tournament. They met the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the final where they won very comfortably and crowned champions for the second time in the tournament and become the first team to win at home. Murali Vijay was declared the Man of the Match for his match-winning innings that helped Chennai to post a big total.

Being the Most Successful team in all of IPL, Chennai Super Kings is regarded as the Manchester United of the Indian Premier League.

TEST RECORDS

• Dhoni's maiden century against Pakistan in Faisalabad (148) is the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. Only three centuries by two other wicket-keepers (Kamran Akmal and Adam Gilchrist – 2) were faster than Dhoni's 93 ball century.
• Under Dhoni's captaincy, India defeated Australia by 320 runs on 21 Oct 2008, biggest ever win in terms of runs for India.
• 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.
• However Dhoni's unbeaten streak of 11 test matches ended during India's tour of England in 2011 and England also replaced India from No.1 spot in ICC Test team rankings.

ODI RECORDS

• On 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).
  • The innings featured 10 Sixes – the most by an Indian in an innings, and the fifth highest in ODIs.
  • 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. Dhoni's batting average is also the highest amongst wicketkeepers in ODIs.
• In June 2007, Dhoni(139*) and Mahela Jayawardene(107) set a new world record for the sixth wicket partnership of 218 runs against Africa XI during the Afro-Asia Cup.
  
  • 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.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).

WORLD CUP 2011

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the 2011 World Cup. In the final against Sri Lanka, chasing 275, Dhoni promoted himself up the batting order, coming before Yuvraj Singh. When he came to bat India needed more than six runs per over with three top order batsmen already dismissed. He started building a good partnership with Gautam Gambhir. Due to good strokeplay and active running between wickets, they kept up with the required run rate. Dhoni was on 60 off 60 balls, but later accelerated with a greater flow of boundaries, ending with 91 not out off 79 balls. Befitting the occasion, he finished the match with a huge six over long-on off bowler Nuwan Kulasekara.

Later he admitted in the post match presentation that he came up the order so as to counter the Muralitharan spin threat as he was very familiar with Murali's bowling, being his team-mate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings. He had come after the dismissal of Virat Kohli, also a right-handed batsman. By partnering with the left-handed Gambhir, he ensured a right-left combination at the crease that makes it difficult for bowlers to settle into a rhythm.

The bat used by Dhoni in the final match,which got the team winning six was sold for  72 Lac. The money goes to Sakshi Rawat Foundation, operated by Dhoni's wife Sakshi Rawat to help orphan children.

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.

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.

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.

Only nine players have captained ten or more Tests while playing as a wicket-keeper. Dhoni leads the field with 33 Tests as captain, 15 ahead of Gerry Alexander in second place.

CAPTAIN OF INDIA

Dhoni was named the captain of India Twenty 20 squad for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007. India were crowned champions as Dhoni led the team to victory against Pakistan in a thrilling contest. He, then went on to become the ODI captain of the Indian team for the seven-match ODI series against Australia in September 2007. He made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008 replacing Anil Kumble who was injured in the third test and who then announced his retirement. Dhoni was vice-captain in this series up to that point. India eventually won that Test thus clinching the series 2–0 and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Dhoni had previously captained India on a stand-in basis against South Africa and Australia in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in December 2009. After that he managed to lead India in a series-levelling world championship of Tests against the South Africans in Feb 2010.

After winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup for India against Sri Lanka on 2 April 2011 with his match winning knock of unbeaten 91, Tendulkar heaped praises on Dhoni, claiming him to be the best captain he has played under. Tendulkar mentioned that it was Dhoni's calm influence that was rubbing off on all his team-mates and even under such extreme pressure from every corner the way Dhoni handles it and brings the best out of him was just incredible. Saurav Ganguly also said in an interview to a news channel that Dhoni is the all time greatest captain of India and he has a great record to support this credential.

Two-match ban

Dhoni was handed a two-match ban from playing in the ODI series against Sri Lanka for the team's slow over-rate during the second one-dayer in Nagpur (18 December 2009).

PERSONAL LIFE

 Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) in a Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. 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 Dhoni is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar.Shreya Ghoshal is his current favourite singer. He said this in front a press conference with Pune Mirror.
Dhoni married Sakshi (née Rawat) on 4 July 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. After the retirement of Sakshi’s father from tea gardens, their family shifted to their native place, Dehradun.

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. Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.

The wedding stumped the media and the fans as it took place only a day after the couple got engaged.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.