Unseen and Rare photos of Dhoni...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk9ZE2nhDlI&noredirect=1

Mahendra Singh Dhoni commonly known as M. S. Dhoni, is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team and the Chennai Super Kings cricket team. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.
He is 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. 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, Asia cup 2010 and 2011 World Cup. His Test, ODI record is best among all the Indian captains to date. He also captained Chennai Super Kings to victory in the recent 2011 IPL and in the Champions League. 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.
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. In 2009 Dhoni topped the list of world's top 10 earning cricketers compiled by Forbes[1] and he has been ranked as 31st richest sportsman in the world according to the Forbes Highest Paid Athletes for the year 2012. Dhoni's total earnings are estimated to be USD 26.5 million according to Forbes. Thus he has became the richest Indian sportsman surpassing Sachin Tendulkar.[2][3][4] The TIME magazine added him in its "Time 100" list of 100 most influential people of 2011.[5] SportsPro has rated MS Dhoni as the 16th most remarkable athlete in the world

Must watch Video... Sachin's family

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'Cricket is a Religion n Tendulkar is the God'

How India won the world cup 2011 : the complete story.

India is a country of thousand religions but the common faith that all follow is cricket. Although just a sport, billon hearts beat in sync whenever their team is in a contest and today, they won the world cup. What Diwali? what is Holi? On 2 April 2011, Indians celebrated their biggest festival, dancing on streets till sun returned from west, giving high fives to whom they've never seen before (or ever will), chanting one slogan.. Indiaaa, India!

This ain't a story that can be summarized into few sentences or even in some paragraphs. This story is worthy of extra large space that fans can relive the glorious moment in years to come and hence, in following, Itsonlycricket.com brings you step by step script that unfolded over 42 days and was finally snatched by India, beating 13 other teams, becoming the first team to win a cricket world cup at home :-

Before it all began
Ranked no.1 in tests and former T20 champions, India were tipped as contender for world cup 2011 by almost every expert after victories over Australia and New Zealand at home and then satisfactory performance in South Africa. Home team unarguably had the best batting line-up in the tournament and the motivation named "Sachin Tendulkar" to go all the way.

The Bangla revenge
Bangladesh had caused India out of previous world cup and now as co-host they were once again the opposition in inaugural match of the tournament. After a magnificent opening ceremony, it was time for blue team to seek revenge and Virender Sehwag lead the way, scoring brutal 175 off just 140 balls. Indians smashed record 371 electing to bat to make a resounding beginning to their campaign. Virat Kohli scored a century on his world cup debut. Visitors bowling was exposed in the second innings as Bangladesh raced upto 284, raising question on how they'll cope up against other major sides.

Oops, English tie up
Sachin Tendulkar, playing in his 6th world cup, desperately wanted to put forward a performance to remember and England bowling suited his style. It was an attacking innings from little master as he smashed 5 sixes in his 115 ball 120 to entertain, propelling home team to 338 but match wasn't finished yet. English captain Andrew Strauss lead the chase with a robust 158 from 144 balls and almost single handedly kept visitors in the game, making mockery of Indian bowling, until he got out.

Batting powerplay was called for which brought couple of quick wickets for Zaheer Khan swing the match back in balance before Ajmal Shahzad hit a six off first ball he faced and now, 11 runs were required off last over. England made 10, a single off last ball and we had the first tie between the two nations in history of one day cricket. This was the new most watched match ever in history of cricket but the record was soon to be broken!

An Irish escape
Ireland, a promising new team of last edition, had already made a name for themselves by beating England in previous match, riding on Kevin O'Brien's fastest world cup century and now they eyed another upset.

Known for their fighting spirit and smart work in field, Indians weren't taking things lightly against this non test playing nation and luck didn't favor them either as toss went in against and Irish elected to bat. Zaheer Khan once again provided crucial break through with the new ball but captain William Porterfield and wicket keeper Niall O'Brien had no trouble raising century stand, setting the platform for a total they could hope to defend. Sadly, Yuvraj Singh's slowish left arm spin foxed middle order and they were wrapped up 13 balls before their quota of overs.

Indian chase of 208 was anything but a cake walk. Ireland bowled and fielded like pros, specially 18 year old George Dockrell, and kept home fan's hearts beating gingerly. Yuvraj Singh made a rare double of five wickets and a fifty in a same world cup match to see Indian ship home with give balls to spare.

Netherlands' set a side
Trick to easy wins over smaller teams is to bowl first and chase down whatever they get. This was the policy Indians adopted against Netherlands and it paid off with Zaheer Khan once again taking 3 wickets besides couple of scalps for Piyush Chawla and Yuvraj Singh. Netherlands had blasted English bowling in their opening game but today none of their batters made an impression.

Points table was getting tangled up for top 4 spots for quarter finals and hence Indians wanted a brisk win to up their net runrate chasing 190 but it wasn't to be. Dutch offspinner Pieter Seelaar dismissed top 3, including pinch hitter Yusuf Pathan and then captain Peter Borren claimed young Virat Kohli. Yuvraj Singh once again stood firm and drove India home in association with skipper MS Dhoni at other end. with give wickets in hand.

India now were almost certain of second round provided they didn't lose next two matches with exceptionally big margins.

Only defeat, to Proteas
How a high flying craft crashes momentarily was an example that happened in this Ahmedabad encounter as India, marching on superb opening stand between Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar when a total in excess off 400 seemed possible failed to reach even 300. Indians lost last 9 wickets for just 29 runs and now they had a match in their hands to save.

Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis knew they didn't had to over attack in this less than run a ball chase and they concentrated on preserving wickets. AB de Villiers received plenty of words from exited Indian bowlers but he let his bat do the talking with an accelerating half century. Now on, once again, it was a matter of lower middle order to bat out the overs and reach the target which Robin Petersen did admirably. giving India their first and only defeat of this world cup 2011. Question were once again raised on Indian team selection and lack of wicket taking bowlers but captain MS Dhoni dodged all of them.

Windies wobble
Middle order collapse in two games in a row had dented Indian hopes to finish as top team in group B and there were even outside chances of them not making it through to quarterfinals had they lost this last league match to Caribbean team by a big margin. In absense of Virender Sehwag, Indians recalled southpaw Suresh Raina and included R Ashwin ahead of Piyush Chawla who was proved costly in last two games. Electing to bat, Yuvraj Singh showed Indians the way with a century following his hattrick of half centuries in previous games but Ravi Rampaul's career best fifer restricted India to an unsafe target of 269.

West Indies, riding on in-form Devon Smith, made a strong reply and soon it was upto Ramnaresh Sarwan to play out the overs to see his team through. Sadly, none of last 7 batsmen got past double figures and match was finished 7 overs earlier. India qualified as second best team in group B.

Aussies sent home
This highly anticipated quarterfinal match began in subdued manner as both team shadow boxed, giving no inch but not attacking either to gather initiative. Under pressure captain Ricky Ponting took the center stage and scored a cautious but career saving century although tight bowling from R Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh limited them to only 260 despite a 26 ball 38 from David Hussey in last few overs.

Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir set the foundation for the chase but Aussies, the winners of last 3 world cups and already set a record of 34 WC match wins in a row, weren't prepared to give up. Fast bowlers rallied around and Indians were at the brink of panic but Yuvraj Singh was up to the task once again. His unbeaten half century made sure he won his 4th man of the match award consecutively. Suresh Raina's inclusion ahead of Yusuf Pathan for his better batting technique worked too as he scored unbeaten 34 off 28 in pressure situation. India were now among the last 4 teams standing in hunt for the cup.

Arch rivals Pakistan in semis
This was the 5th time India played Pakistan in world cup and they had a record to preserve, of not losing to them ever in cricket's biggest tournament. and they achieved it, thanks to some fine fielding and poor show from visitors.

PCA stadium in Mohali was turned into a filmy/political arena as this match began where Indians won the toss and Virender Sehwag gave'em a start to remember but Sachin Tendulkar played a scratchy innings, scoring 85 nervous runs after Pakistani fielders dropped 4 catches offered. Young left arm seamer Wahab Riaz ripped apart the middle order to limit Indians to a score they had successfully defended in last game.

Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq were top two scorers for Pakistan in the chase and they too were the reason for them to fall 30 run short. Hafeez played a very poor shot after getting set and without pressure of increasing runrate while Misbah-ul-Haq batted utterly slowly, decelerating run rate. Indians rejoiced all night but the job wasn't finished just yet.

Final vs Sri Lanka
2nd April 2011, Wankhede stadium, Mumbai. In this 10th edition, either India or Sri Lanka were set to win their only the second world cup.

The toss debacle
ICC has complicated the way of toss, including match referee who gives the coin to home captain and visiting skipper calls a side. This time, we had comedy of errors as Kumar Sangakkara didn't call (or he did but Referee didn't hear) and coin was tossed for the second time, a very rare happening in game of cricket where a lot depends on toss. Indian captain may have protested but it seemed like he wanted to give the advantage to visitors. Second time, Sri Lanka won and elected to bat.

Solid Sangakkara
Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan were the highest scoring openers in the tournament but today, captain Kumar Sangakkara set the pattern, driving Indian bowlers elegantly and guiding Dilshan who looked overwhelmed by the occassion.

Miraculous Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene had sacrificed his captainship after losing final of last world cup but his no.4 position was a wicket home team had to get to be able to chase a reasonable total. They couldn't, and Jayawardene scored a superb century, assisting Thilan Samarweera, Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera and pushing Lankan total past 270 run mark. With their high profile bowling artillery, visitors were expected to defend their potent target provided they got early wickets which indeed came their way.

Gritty Gambhir
Up against the biggest chase to win a world cup final, India lost Sehwag off the second ball and then Sachin Tendulkar edged Lasith Malinga for 18 off 15. Indian fans started to lose hope but youngsters Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli proved their worth with a crucial stand for the 3rd wicket. Kohli couldn't continue but Gambhir did, reaching his half century and got almost to a rare century in final before a rash shot brought about his downfall.

Dhoni Conquers
With two offspinners bowling, Indian captain promoted himself up the order ahead of in-form Yuvraj Singh knowing the fact that he's a better player of spin bowling and it worked, maintaining left-right hand combination at the crease. He raised a vital century stand from a position Lankans looked like racing away with the cup with Gambhir and then accelerated just enough to seal the game for his country. India became the first team to win the world cup in front of home crowd.

MS Dhoni was named man of the match while Yuvraj Singh was man of the series.

Tendulkar with trophy
In his 6th world cup, this was probably the last chance for Sachin Tendulkar to get hold of cricket's biggest trophy and he certainly was happy having achieved it. Tendulkar finished as the second highest scorer in the tournament and now has more runs than any other batsman in world cup career.

Tendulkar was rumored to quit one day cricket had India lost this final match but since they won it, we may see a little more of little champion in this 50 over format, if not again in 2015 edition!

Gary Kirsten quits
The man behind the show, South African Gary Kirsten, was lauded was one of the best coach to have served Indian cricket team but since he has a young family back in his country, Gary had already announced he won't renew his contract. Before Indians start looking for their new coach, it was time to pay tribute to the man who helped them achieve the cup after 28 long years.

A brief history of cricket

The origins of cricket lie somewhere in the Dark Ages - probably after the Roman Empire, almost certainly before the Normans invaded England, and almost certainly somewhere in Northern Europe. All research concedes that the game derived from a very old, widespread and uncomplicated pastime by which one player served up an object, be it a small piece of wood or a ball, and another hit it with a suitably fashioned club.

How and when this club-ball game developed into one where the hitter defended a target against the thrower is simply not known. Nor is there any evidence as to when points were awarded dependent upon how far the hitter was able to despatch the missile; nor when helpers joined the two-player contest, thus beginning the evolution into a team game; nor when the defining concept of placing wickets at either end of the pitch was adopted.

Etymological scholarship has variously placed the game in the Celtic, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Dutch and Norman-French traditions; sociological historians have variously attributed its mediaeval development to high-born country landowners, emigré Flemish cloth-workers, shepherds on the close-cropped downland of south-east England and the close-knit communities of iron- and glass-workers deep in the Kentish Weald. Most of these theories have a solid academic basis, but none is backed with enough evidence to establish a watertight case. The research goes on.

What is agreed is that by Tudor times cricket had evolved far enough from club-ball to be recognisable as the game played today; that it was well established in many parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; that within a few years it had become a feature of leisure time at a significant number of schools; and - a sure sign of the wide acceptance of any game - that it had become popular enough among young men to earn the disapproval of local magistrates.

Dates in cricket history

1550 (approx) Evidence of cricket being played in Guildford, Surrey.
1598 Cricket mentioned in Florio's Italian-English dictionary.
1610 Reference to "cricketing" between Weald and Upland near Chevening, Kent. 1611 Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary translates the French word "crosse" as a cricket staff.
Two youths fined for playing cricket at Sidlesham, Sussex.

1624 Jasper Vinall becomes first man known to be killed playing cricket: hit by a bat while trying to catch the ball - at Horsted Green, Sussex.
1676 First reference to cricket being played abroad, by British residents in Aleppo, Syria.
1694 Two shillings and sixpence paid for a "wagger" (wager) about a cricket match at Lewes.
1697 First reference to "a great match" with 11 players a side for fifty guineas, in Sussex.
1700 Cricket match announced on Clapham Common.

1709 First recorded inter-county match: Kent v Surrey.
1710 First reference to cricket at Cambridge University.
1727 Articles of Agreement written governing the conduct of matches between the teams of the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peperharow, Surrey.
1729 Date of earliest surviving bat, belonging to John Chitty, now in the pavilion at The Oval.
1730 First recorded match at the Artillery Ground, off City Road, central London, still the cricketing home of the Honourable Artillery Company.

1744 Kent beat All England by one wicket at the Artillery Ground.
First known version of the Laws of Cricket, issued by the London Club, formalising the pitch as 22 yards long.
1767 (approx) Foundation of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire, the leading club in England for the next 30 years.
1769 First recorded century, by John Minshull for Duke of Dorset's XI v Wrotham.
1771 Width of bat limited to 4 1/4 inches, where it has remained ever since.
1774 LBW law devised.
1776 Earliest known scorecards, at the Vine Club, Sevenoaks, Kent.
1780 The first six-seamed cricket ball, manufactured by Dukes of Penshurst, Kent.
1787 First match at Thomas Lord's first ground, Dorset Square, Marylebone - White Conduit Club v Middlesex.
Formation of Marylebone Cricket Club by members of the White Conduit Club.
1788 First revision of the Laws of Cricket by MCC.
1794 First recorded inter-schools match: Charterhouse v Westminster.
1795 First recorded case of a dismissal "leg before wicket".
1806 First Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's.
1807 First mention of "straight-armed" (i.e. round-arm) bowling: by John Willes of Kent.
1809 Thomas Lord's second ground opened at North Bank, St John's Wood.
1811 First recorded women's county match: Surrey v Hampshire at Ball's Pond, London.
1814 Lord's third ground opened on its present site, also in St John's Wood.
1827 First Oxford v Cambridge match, at Lord's. A draw.
1828 MCC authorise the bowler to raise his hand level with the elbow.
1833 John Nyren publishes his classic Young Cricketer's Tutor and The Cricketers of My Time.
1836 First North v South match, for many years regarded as the principal fixture of the season.
1836 (approx) Batting pads invented.
1841 General Lord Hill, commander-in-chief of the British Army, orders that a cricket ground be made an adjunct of every military barracks.
1844 First official international match: Canada v United States.
1845 First match played at The Oval.
1846 The All-England XI, organised by William Clarke, begins playing matches, often against odds, throughout the country.
1849 First Yorkshire v Lancashire match.
1850 Wicket-keeping gloves first used.
1850 John Wisden bowls all ten batsmen in an innings for North v South.
1853 First mention of a champion county: Nottinghamshire.
1858 First recorded instance of a hat being awarded to a bowler taking three wickets with consecutive balls.
1859 First touring team to leave England, captained by George Parr, draws enthusiastic crowds in the US and Canada.
1864 Overhand bowling authorised by MCC.
John Wisden's The Cricketer's Almanack first published.
1868 Team of Australian aborigines tour England.
1873 WG Grace becomes the first player to record 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season.
First regulations restricting county qualifications, often regarded as the official start of the County Championship.
1877 First Test match: Australia beat England by 45 runs in Melbourne.
1880 First Test in England: a five-wicket win against Australia at The Oval.
1882 Following England's first defeat by Australia in England, an "obituary notice" to English cricket in the Sporting Times leads to the tradition of The Ashes.
1889 South Africa's first Test match.
Declarations first authorised, but only on the third day, or in a one-day match.
1890 County Championship officially constituted.Present Lord's pavilion opened.
1895 WG Grace scores 1,000 runs in May, and reaches his 100th hundred.
1899 AEJ Collins scores 628 not out in a junior house match at Clifton College, the highest individual score in any match.
Selectors choose England team for home Tests, instead of host club issuing invitations.
1900 Six-ball over becomes the norm, instead of five.
1909 Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC - now the International Cricket Council) set up, with England, Australia and South Africa the original members.
1910 Six runs given for any hit over the boundary, instead of only for a hit out of the ground.
1912 First and only triangular Test series played in England, involving England, Australia and South Africa.
1915 WG Grace dies, aged 67.
1926 Victoria score 1,107 v New South Wales at Melbourne, the record total for a first-class innings.
1928 West Indies' first Test match.AP "Tich" Freeman of Kent and England becomes the only player to take more than 300 first-class wickets in a season: 304.
1930 New Zealand's first Test match.Donald Bradman's first tour of England: he scores 974 runs in the five Ashes Tests, still a record for any Test series.
1931 Stumps made higher (28 inches not 27) and wider (nine inches not eight - this was optional until 1947).
1932 India's first Test match.Hedley Verity of Yorkshire takes ten wickets for ten runs v Nottinghamshire, the best innings analysis in first-class cricket.
1932-33 The Bodyline tour of Australia in which England bowl at batsmen's bodies with a packed leg-side field to neutralise Bradman's scoring.
1934 Jack Hobbs retires, with 197 centuries and 61,237 runs, both records. First women's Test: Australia v England at Brisbane.
1935 MCC condemn and outlaw Bodyline.
1947 Denis Compton of Middlesex and England scores a record 3,816 runs in an English season.
1948 First five-day Tests in England.Bradman concludes Test career with a second-ball duck at The Oval and a batting average of 99.94 - four runs short of 100.
1952 Pakistan's first Test match.
1953 England regain the Ashes after a 19-year gap, the longest ever.
1956 Jim Laker of England takes 19 wickets for 90 v Australia at Manchester, the best match analysis in first-class cricket.
1957 Declarations authorised at any time.
1960 First tied Test, Australia v West Indies at Brisbane.
1963 Distinction between amateur and professional cricketers abolished in English cricket.
The first major one-day tournament begins in England: the Gillette Cup.
1969 Limited-over Sunday league inaugurated for first-class counties.
1970 Proposed South African tour of England cancelled: South Africa excluded from international cricket because of their government's apartheid policies.
1971 First one-day international: Australia v England at Melbourne.
1975 First World Cup: West Indies beat Australia in final at Lord's.
1976 First women's match at Lord's, England v Australia.
1977 Centenary Test at Melbourne, with identical result to the first match: Australia beat England by 45 runs.
Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer, signs 51 of the world's leading players in defiance of the cricketing authorities.
1978 Graham Yallop of Australia wears a protective helmet to bat in a Test match, the first player to do so.
1979 Packer and official cricket agree peace deal.
1980 Eight-ball over abolished in Australia, making the six-ball over universal.
1981 England beat Australia in Leeds Test, after following on with bookmakers offering odds of 500 to 1 against them winning.
1982 Sri Lanka's first Test match.
1991 South Africa return, with a one-day international in India.
1992 Zimbabwe's first Test match.
Durham become the first county since Glamorgan in 1921 to attain firstclass status.
1993 The ICC ceases to be administered by MCC, becoming an independent organisation with its own chief executive.
1994 Brian Lara of Warwickshire becomes the only player to pass 500 in a firstclass innings: 501 not out v Durham.
2000 South Africa's captain Hansie Cronje banned from cricket for life after admitting receiving bribes from bookmakers in match-fixing scandal.
Bangladesh's first Test match.
County Championship split into two divisions, with promotion and relegation.
The Laws of Cricket revised and rewritten.
2001 Sir Donald Bradman dies, aged 92.
2003 Twenty20 Cup, a 20-over-per-side evening tournament, inaugurated in England.
2004 Lara becomes the first man to score 400 in a Test innings, against England.
2005 The ICC introduces Powerplays and Supersubs in ODIs, and hosts the inaugural Superseries.
2006 Pakistan forfeit a Test at The Oval after being accused of ball tampering.

Resources relating to the history of cricket

General

·        A history of 18th Century cricket literature by AR Littlewood

·        The measurements of cricket - the origin of the dimensions of cricket by AR Littlewood.

National

·        History of Cricket in Bangladesh

·        History of Cricket in Zimbabwe

ICC Associates and affiliates

·        History of Cricket In Bermuda

·        History of the History of Cricket In Canada

·        History of Cricket In Israel

·        History of Cricket In Ireland

·        History of Cricket in Kenya

·        Singapore Cricket - a short history

·        Cricket in America - An Historical Summary

'Title no.40 for Mumbai'

'Title no.40 for Mumbai'

'Made full use of the home conditions'

Mumbai skipper Ajith Agarkar was surprised by Sourashtra's meek surrender in Ranji Trophy