Dhoni has done wonders to Indian cricket: Sourav Ganguly

Preferring to stay away from comparisons, former skipper Sourav Ganguly says current captain M.S Dhoni has done "wonders to Indian cricket" and is poised to lead the country in the 2015 World Cup.

'Captain Cool' Dhoni once again lived upto the billing by leading India to ICC Champions Trophy triumph on Sunday.

"Dhoni has been an outstanding captain. His record as captain is terrific. He still has a lot of cricket left in him and he has done wonders to Indian cricket," Ganguly said.

"Dhoni backs players as well. People like (Suresh) Raina, (Ravindra) Jadeja, and Rohit Sharma have developed under him as players and has some terrific qualities as a leader," he was quoted as saying by a news channel.

For the 31-year-old Dhoni, winning the Champions Trophy completed a remarkable cycle of triumphs which started with the T20 World Cup in 2007. India also won the 2011 ODI World Cup under his leadership and the victory yesterday reaffirmed his status as India's best-ever captain. No other captain in international cricket has won three major ICC trophies.

Asked about the next 50-over World Cup, Ganguly, under whom India became a force to reckon with in international cricket by winning Test matches abroad, said, "I am sure he has got the 2015 WC at the back of his mind. He is young, a terrific ODI player and there is no reason why he won't be captain."

While Dhoni has often said that the mantra to his success has been to keep things simple, Ganguly has a different take.

"Well, you try to keep things simple...You try! Dhoni looks okay from outside. There must be a lot of pressure from inside. Situations are something you react to and he looks less fussy. But whatever it is, he has done a marvellous job for India," Ganguly said.

Even as reams of prints have been dedicated to articles on comparison between the 'Prince of Kolkata' and the man from Jharkhand, Ganguly doesn't quite entertain the thought.

"I really don't know why people are comparing me with Dhoni. I don't think it will be possible for me to compare myself with him. I don't believe in comparisons. You can't compare players or captains or people of different eras. Situations are different and you react differently."

Virat Kohli Dancing Gangnam Style after winning Champions Trophy 2013 In...

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india wins champions trophy

BIRMINGHAM: India beat England by five runs to win the Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston on Sunday as the hosts' wait for a major one-day international title continued.

In a match reduced to 20 overs per side because of rain, World Cup holders India were held to 129 for seven after losing the toss.

But after Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara threatened to win the game with the bat for England, India took four wickets for three runs in eight balls with seamer Ishant Sharma starting the slide with two in two deliveries.

Ravindra Jadeja gets the Man-of-the-Match award for his fighting 33 and his brilliant 2 for 24

He also wins the ‘golden ball’ award for taking maximum number of wickets (12) in the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan receives the ‘golden bat’ award for being the highest run-scorer (363 runs) of the tournament.

The world champions have beaten the hosts in an absolute rollercoaster of a final to win the Champions Trophy.

Kohli's fighting 43 and Jadeja's heroic 33-run knock in the later stages of the innings helped India recover from early setbacks to a modest 129 in a game restricted to 20 overs due to persistent rain. The bowlers put up a spirited performance defending such a small total.  Ashwin and Jadeja kept the pressure on England throughout with some outstanding spin bowling.

England did seem to recover through a brilliant stand between Bopara and Morgan in the middle, but Ishant came in with a crucial double blow, removing both of them in the same over. Ashwin finished with the figures of 2 for 15, Jadeja got 2 for 24 and Ishant Sharma finished with 2 for 36

England needed a six off the last ball but that proved beyond tailender James Tredwell as the hosts finished on 124 for eight in 20 overs.

Defeat meant England had still to win a major ODI title having lost three World Cup finals (1979, 1987 and 1992) and the 2004 Champions Trophy final against the West Indies at The Oval when they last staged this event in 2004. (AFP)

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India beat England to clinch ICC Champions Trophy

BIRMINGHAM: It came down to the proverbial wire, but in the end all of England's melancholic weather and the T20-like drama could not deny India its share of joy in gloomy Birmingham on Sunday. From the start of the Champions Trophy early this month, they had been the team to beat here. In the end, they remained unbeaten.


The only coveted trophy missing from India's cupboard - MS Dhoni's too - was finally won in dominating style as they signed off from the United Kingdom on the note that they had signed in. The men in blue had once shared this trophy with Sri Lanka in 2002 after being declared joint-winners because of a final marred by rain, but the result wasn't quite appetite whetting.

The win over England by five runs, in a rain-shortened encounter that was unfair to India considering the three breaks in their innings and the sun was out when the hosts batted, once again affirmed their position as World Champions in the 50-over format. If this was indeed the last edition of the Champions Trophy, it will have to be an ode to a team that arrived here in the aftermath of extremely disturbing developments back home, enjoyed unparalleled fan-following here, looked the most dangerous side from Day One and won a final in which the odds were completely against them.

England will be in mourning. They came close to a win in the weather that best suited them only to be defeated for the fifth time in the final of a major ICC tournament.

Sunday's final was a farcical one indeed and nothing can be taken away from the organisers of the event - the ICC - in the manner in which they messed up with the schedule of the tournament. Since 2004, the Champions Trophy has been void of reserve days for the final and not even the preposterous English weather could help convince them otherwise.

It was a match that looked like it was played simply to get a result and compensate the sponsors and advertisers who may have paid handsomely for the tournament. The ICC technical committee in fact went ahead and extended the deadline to finish the game by three hours, instead of having a reserve day in place.

Chasing 129 for victory in 20 overs - reduced from 50 because of constant showers - England started on a shaky note, losing captain Alastair Cook to Umesh Yadav at the start of the innings. However, middle-order batsmen Eoin Morgan and Ian Bell resurrected the innings, bringing their side almost to the brink of a win. But once they left, the remaining batsmen caved in.

“It’s tough to take,” Cook said. “I’m proud of the way the lads played, we just came up a little bit short.”
England had been seeking its first global 50-over trophy, having lost three World Cup finals and finished as the runner-up at the 2004 Champions Trophy. England won the World Twenty20 in 2010.

It was Dhoni's admirable captaincy - the way he rotated his bowlers, spread the field and kept the faith - that did the opponents in. R Ashwin's spell put England under severe pressure while Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma kept plucking wickets.

Earlier, India lost the toss and were put in to bat first. After losing an early wicket in opener Rohit Sharma, the team rode on Virat Kohli's 33-ball 43 and Jadeja's 21-ball 23 to post 129-7 in 20 overs. It was a mockery of the game as players walked in and out of the dressing rooms whenever the drizzle halted play.

Rain thrice stopped play but considering that it was a truncated game, the target set by India wasn't revised because the stipulated number of overs was possible. It was clearly unfair on Dhoni's team to bat in conditions that weren't just terrible but marred by continuous interruptions.

In the end, the deserving team won and firecrackers finally lifted the spirits at Edgbaston.