India's Most Successful Caption Mahendra Singh Dhoni says Bye to Test Captaincy !

 With immediate effect & loss in test series Indian Captain  Mahendra Singh Dhoni says bye bye to test captaincy !!

Dhoni Finishes as the Most Successful caption in test in indian cricket. This news conformed by BCCI (board of cricket control india) on their twitter account..

Dhoni handling burden of playing in all the three formats eventually so,  India captainMahendra Singh Dhoni, announced retirement from Test cricket in the middle of the ongoing four-match Australia series.

Dhoni is One of India's greatest Test captains under whose leadership India became the No. 1 team in the Test Rankings & No. 1 in ODI Ranking,  M S Dhoni, has decided to retire from Test cricket citing the strain of playing all formats of cricket," Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Sanjay Patel said on Today.

Dhoni is India's most successful Test captain with 27 victories out of 60 Tests, while losing 18 with 15 draws.

Sanjay Patel of BCCI clarified that Dhoni would continue to feature in the limited overs format. He is expected to lead India in the tri-series in Australia next coming new year first month and also in the ICC 50-over World Cup starting in Australia-New Zealand in Feburary. "Dhoni has chosen to retire from Test cricket with immediate effect in order to concentrate on ODI and T20 formats."

The BCCI congratulate him while respecting the decision, & wishes to thank him for his enormous contribution to Test cricket and the laurels that he has brought to India," the BCCI secretary sanjay patel says on twitter.

Virat Kohli will lead India in the the fourth and final Test against Australia in Sydney, starting on January 6.

Before all this india manage to draws the third test against Australia, Australia leading the series by 2-0. In final day 

 Australia declared on 318-9 at lunch, setting India 384 to win in 70 overs in the final two sessions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which had been extended due to rain.

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Indian Bowlers perform well but not enough to go for win in third test at MSG

On Day 1 of third test at MSG:  India bowl well & restrict Australia to reducing them to 259 for five at the end of the opening day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Friday.

But, captain Steven Smith compiled a watchful half-century to guide Australia to 259 for five at stumps and leave the third Test against India on opening day in Melbourne. Smith won the toss and put his team in to bat but the hosts were on the back foot for much of a mild, sunny day in front of a festive Boxing Day crowd of 70,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

While in india, Lauding his fellow bowlers for executing their plans well on Day 1, India pacer Mohammed Shami said the tourists would aim to send Australia packing as soon as possible in the first session on the second day in the third Test against Australia in Melbourne. also Umesh yadav takes 2 wicket, & ashwin share 1 wicket at end of innings. 

"Throughout the series, our intention has been to bowl to a plan, to bowl line and length," said Shami.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar rated India's bowling on the opening day of the third cricket Test against Australia as their best performance in the series so far but reminded that lack of quality bowling all-rounder could hurt the visitors again going into day two.

In this test : Mahendra Singh Dhoni become the first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 50 catches against Australia in Tests, taking his dismissals' tally to 65 (51 catches + 14 stumpings) in 19 games - the highest by an Indian wicketkeeper in Tests vs Australia.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni vs Australia in Tests: 65 dismissals, 51 catches, 14 stumpings in 19 games.

India's captain is the seventh wicketkeeper to complete 251 catches in 90 Tests.

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If India Losses Melbourne Test it will be seventh straight Test loss on Australian land ..

After defeats in the first two Tests, India need to come back on their reserves of pride and motivation to avoid a seventh straight Test loss on Australian land this.

Can India retain the fighting spirit that has made the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests anything but one-sided contests, however, they could record a victory of some significance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Since they triumphed in Perth in January 2008, neither side has won a Test match in the other's country with Australia suffering 2-0, 2-0 and 4-0 defeats on the sub-continent and India losing all four Tests on their 2011-12 tour.

Opener David Warner has a bruised thumb that could hamper him if he is passed fit to play, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin are in poor form, while injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh has been replaced by the uncapped Joe Burns. Quite how Australia will line up when the Test starts in front of the traditional bumper crowd on Friday is matter of some conjecture with coach Darren Lehmann suggesting Burns could slot in anywhere in the top six.

There is the sparkling form of stand-in skipper Steve Smith and the mercurial menace of paceman Mitchell Johnson, whose performances with bat and ball turned the Gabba Test. Fast bowler Ryan Harris has recovered from a thigh strain and should return in place of left-arm quick Mitch Starc alongside Johnson and Josh Hazlewood, who took 5 wickets in his first innings in test cricket.

 Just how long the unrest caused by opener Shikhar Dhawan's decision not to bat on day four in Brisbane after injuring his arm in the nets continues to unsettle Mahendra Singh Dhoni dressing room, remains to be seen. But if Dhoni, who has been criticised for appearing less than convinced of the importance of the longest form of the game, can lead his team to victory, he could make a considerable addition to his legacy as skipper.

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India 2 Down in Test Series Against Australia & Same Chapter of Loss Blame Repeated .....

Australia successfully chased down Target set by india of 128 runs, & got 4 wicket victory and an 2-0 series lead against India.

On playing first india started their inning fron 71/1 in second inning & got allout on just 224 runs. Lead of 128 runs to chase. Mitchell Marsh hit the winning runs after Indian paceman Ishant Sharma had given the hosts cause for some nerves by removing David Warner and Shane Watson cheaply and bringing an end to a solid innings of 55 from opener Chris Rogers.

The nerves deepened when Shaun Marsh was caught behind off Umesh Yadav with Australia 14 runs from their target before Steve Smith was run out for 28 and vice-captain Brad Haddin caught in the deep with victory in sight. Injured all-rounder Mitchell Marsh  ushered Australia over the line with a cover drive for four and Mitchell Johnson finished with an unbeaten two.

"It's nice to get home there in the end," stand-in captain Smith, who was named man of the match after scoring a century in his first innings. Unfortunately I wasn't there at the end to do it, but Chris Rogers came out and played positively and got the runs to get us over the line." Smith said in interview.

 The day had started with the match still in the balance but a magical spell of fast bowling from Johnson (4-61) in the first 20 minutes of play triggered an Indian collapse and the tourists lost their last nine wickets for 153 runs.

India had resumed on 71-1 without opener Dhawan, who was injured warming up in the nets, looking to rub the last 26 runs off their first innings deficit and build another imposing tally to match their first innings 408.

Johnson, though, reprised the onslaught that drove his country to victory in the opening Ashes test at the same ground last year, taking three for 10 in 11 balls in the first 20 minutes.

Johnson said."My job in this team is to get out there and get wickets and be aggressive. It's just nice to feel some rhythm and contribute to the team."

Backing up the pugnacious innings of 88 that brought Australia back into the match on Friday, Johnson summoned up pace and venom to remove Virat Kohli (1), Ajinkya Rahane (10) and Rohit Sharma (0).

Debutant paceman Josh Hazlewood, who took five for 68 in the first innings, then pitched in by trapping India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in front for a duck with the second ball of the following over to leave the tourists reeling. India had crept passed Australia's first innings tally of 505 when Ravi Ashwin was dismissed for 19 and Dhawan's trip to hospital for X-rays on his injured right wrist was hurriedly cancelled so he could rejoin Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle.

Pujara had brought the only solidity to the innings but he too departed just before lunch for 43, giving Hazlewood his second victim of the day and sending India into lunch clinging on at 157-7.

Dhawan and Umesh Yadav, however, put on 60 for the eighth wicket to give India some hope but when the opener finally departed for 81, Australia soon mopped up the tail.

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Highlight of 3rd day second test at Gabba, in Brisbane Australia .....

After the injury of Australian caption Michal Clark, Steven Smith was given the responsibility to lead the side and the team ended up with the highest innings by an Australian captain on debut since Warwick Armstrong’s 158 in 1920.

At 25 years he also became the youngest Australian captain to score a hundred on captaincy debut.

We see very rare like Twin hundreds for Kohli at Adelaide and a hundred for Smith at Brisbane of two players score hundreds on captaincy debut in the same series.

Skipper Steve Smith is delighted that Australia were able to push their first innings' total past 500 runs and take a lead over India in the second Test.

The hosts replied to India's 408-run total with 506 in their first innings, the captain himself scoring a hundred, and Mitchell Johnson a quick-fire 88 runs.

Highlight of 3rd day second test...

Mitchell Starc (52 off 59 balls) posted his fourth fifty in Tests  his second against India. Starc's highest knock in Tests is his 99, against India at Mohali in March 2013.

Australia (505) posted their first total of 500 or more against India at Brisbane, bettering the 382 for eight wickets declared in 1947-48.

Smith's sixth Test century (133 off 191 balls) is his second against India. He recorded a career-best 162 not out in the Adelaide Test.

Starc and Hazlewood put on 51 -- Australia's highest for the 10th wicket vs India at Brisbane, outstripping the 50 between Alan Hurst and Jeff Thomson in December 1977.

 The 148-run stand between Mitchell Johnson and Smith is Australia's highest seventh-wicket partnership at Brisbane.

 Johnson's second half-century against India is his 10th in Tests. His magnificent 88 off 93 balls is his highest score against India.

 The innings is Johnson’s fourth highest in Tests his career-best being 123 not out vs South Africa at Cape Town in 2008-09.

Reply in second innings india score 71/1  for the loss of murly vijay wicket.

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Highlights of 2nd day of 2nd Test at the Gabba, in Brisbane

Resuming at the overnight score of 311 for four, India lost their last six wickets for just 97 runs and were dismissed for 408 in 109.4 overs, debutant Josh Hazlewood being the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 5 for 68.

Umesh Yadav scalped three wickets on his comeback & ashwin took 1 wicket before leave the second Test against Australia at the end of Day 2 at the Gabba, in Brisbane, on Thursday.

 A look at the statistical highlights from the day’s play.

India got all out in 110 overs with 408 runs on board in return Australia playing on 221/4 in 50 overs at end of 2nd day of 2nd test.

Shaun Marsh (32 off 70 balls) posted his highest score against India in seven innings. He has just 49 runs in five Tests, at an average of 7.00 versus India.

Nathan Lyon is the first bowler to complete 15 wickets (ave.26.06) in the present rubber.

Rohit Sharma (32 off 55 balls) registered his second best score versus Australia in Tests, next only to the 43 at Brisbane in the first Test of the ongoing series.

Josh Hazlewood became the third Australian bowler to bag five wickets in an innings on Test debut versus India. The other bowlers are Brett Lee -- 5/47 at Melbourne in 1999-00 and Jason Krejza -- 8 for 215 at Nagpur in 2008-09. Hazlewood had figures of 5 for 68 in the ongoing match at Brisbane.

No other wicketkeeper has effected six dismissals in an innings in India-Australia Tests. He is the second wicketkeeper to effect six dismissals at the Gabba, Brisbane, the first being Rodney Marsh against England in 1982-83.

Haddin equalled an Australian record of taking six catches in a Test innings as a wicketkeeper and joined Wally Grout, Rod Marsh and Ian Healy.

 Shane Watson has not scored a half-century in 10 innings vs India in Tests.

 Rogers's splendid 55 off 79 balls is his first fifty against India -- his sixth in Test cricket.

 He averages 20.80 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy -- his tally being 104 in five innings.

 Steven Smith has posted four consecutive innings of fifty-plus for the first time -- the sequence being 97 vs Pakistan at Abu Dhabi and 162 & 52 at Adelaide and 65 at Brisbane -- all three unbeaten innings vs India. Smith's 10th half-century in Tests is his third vs India.

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India bounce back in second test Against Australia as Murali Vijay hits century on first day.........

How often do we see a batsman get out on 99 and score a hundred in his next innings in Test cricket?

 Murali Vijay is only the eighth batsman to do so. Murali Vijay carried his sublime form into the Brisbane Test. He was unfortunate to miss out on a well-deserved hundred at Adelaide and & India lost to Australia in first test by just 46 runs.

Murali Vijay four Test hundreds out of five career tons have come while playing against the Australians and Indian opener Murali Vijay today attributed his special liking for the Aussies to the inspiration he got from the great knocks of legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar. 

Vijay scored 144 runs on day one of the second Test against Australia, his fourth Test hundred against the same opposition.

Vijay became the first opening visiting batsman to record a century in the first innings of a Test at the Gabba, Brisbane, outstripping West Indian, M C Carew's 83 in 1968-69 & He is the seventh Indian opener to post a hundred in a Test in Australia.

Vijay also completes 2000 runs in test & become 34th Indian batsman to complete 2 k runs in Tests - his aggregate being 2002 (ave.40.04) in 29 Tests. 

Ajinkya Rahane also played well & recorded his sixth Test fifty, his second against Australia. His unbeaten 75 is his highest Test score versus Australia, eclipsing the 72 at Adelaide in the first Test of the series. 

In second test Mahendra Singh Dhoni also gets return from injury & lead India in Wednesday's against Australia in Brisbane Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also leading India in the 29th overseas Test, overtaking Sourav Ganguly's 28. 

For Dhoni, it will also be a test of his captaincy as his record in overseas Tests is very poor  five loses, three draws, one win in 9 Tests, & the 3 successive overseas series' defeats.

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India Lost to Australia In Adelaide Oval First Test.....but Kohli has no regrets !! Read Why?

India captain Virat Kohli has no regrets that his India lost the first test to Australia

Kohli, who led India's hits with a brilliant century in both innings,  In Adelaide Oval First Test india looses by 48-run, but the batsman praised his team mates to play game for a win.

Kohli said "I'm really proud of the way the boys played," At no point did we back off. And we are not going to back off either. If at any stage that we had in mind that we might play for a draw, we would have lost by 150 runs, to be honest. "So we went for it. That is what I am happy about."

Kohli bacame skipper for the first time after regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni withdrew because of injury, Kohli became the second Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare to score two hundreds (116 and 148) in a Test at Adelaide. Among Indian batsmen, he became the fourth after Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid  to achieve this feat.

In doing so, Kohli matched Greg Chappell's feat of scoring twin hundreds in a Test in his first match as captain. The Australia had achieved it against West Indies in 1975-76 at Brisbane.

Kohli added "I was only thinking about the target trying to calculate who I was going after. That's the first time I have been able to do that, in Test cricket at least. That was something new for me. So that felt good.

"I was hoping, when Mitchell Marsh was swinging at the boundary, that he will drop the catch. But he didn't. There are no regrets about playing that shot. I could have placed it better. Had it gone for a boundary, things could have been different.

Despite losing the match, Kohli also impressed with his captaincy but said he said no to taking over from Dhoni, who will be back in place when the second test starts in Brisbane next week.

"I would be very happy that he is going to be fit and available," Kohli said.

On the match report Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed seven wickets (7-152) to help the Aussies win the first Test at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday & Also become Man of the match.

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David Warner struck a second century in the match.. Australia got Strong hold !!

Australia dominated India on the fourth day of the first Test at Adelaide

David Warner scored 102 to add to a first-innings 145 as the hosts reached 290-5, a lead of 363. It is the second time this year he has scored a hundred in both innings of a Test.

Warner dedicated his century on the opening day to Australia batsman Phillip Hughes, who died last month. Hughes, 25, died after being struck on the neck by a ball in a Sheffield Shield match.

Warner, who was dropped twice, was dismissed by Varun Aaron off a no-ball on 66. The umpires intervened after Aaron gave Warner a vocal send-off, with the batsman responding in kind when recalled to the crease.

                               

Steve Smith and Virat Kohli exchanged words in the final hour, prompting Warner to run from the other end of the pitch and confront the India captain.

Earlier, off-spinner Nathan Lyon exploited considerable bounce in the pitch to claim 5-134 as India, resuming on 369-5, were bowled out for 444, a first-innings deficit of 73.

Smith, who made an unbeaten 162 in the first innings, ended the day 52 not out, Mitchell Marsh having hit 40 off 26 balls.

No side have chased more than 315 in the fourth innings to win a Test at Adelaide.

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India post a strong reply to Australia in first Test in Adelaide...

India post a strong reply to Australia total of 517 for 7 on Day 3 of the first Test at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

India's batsmen came good on a flat track, as the visitors ended the day on 369 for 5 (97 overs). Wriddhimaan Saha (1) and Rohit Sharma (33) were at the crease at the draw of stump.  Virat Kohli Captain made strong 115 completed a beautifully compiled century that was inclusive of 12 boundaries. But just before close of play, a superb low catch by Ryan Harris at fine leg saw him walk back to the pavilion. 

Mitchell Johnson banged one in short, Kohli went for the pull but failed to middle it, bringing an end to his commendable innings. Kohli is the third Indian to score a century on his captaincy debut, after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar. This is Kohli's second century at Adelaide and fourth overseas out of seven overall in Tests.

Openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan put on a strong reply after Australia declared their innings closed at 517-7 before the start of play. India's batsmen played a controlled innings. Vijay and Dhawan played with positive intent and went after the bowling.

Their attacking mindset bore positive results and Dhawan, who was the more aggressive of the two, raced to 25 off just 24 deliveries. Harris sent in a probing delivery that nipped back a fraction to catch an inside edge and cannoned onto the stumps.

Vijay and Pujara then frustrated the bowlers for much of the morning, the opener taking a liking to Nathan Lyon, clubbing him for a six over his head and a four with the same shot off the next ball. Vijay whipped three runs off his pads off Harris to raise his half-century shortly before lunch.

Johnson nick from Vijay into the slips to remove the opener for 53. & also India’s stand-in captain welcomed to the pitch in the 31st over by a Johnson bouncer that stuck the Delhi batsman on his helmet.

Pujara and Kohli added 81 runs after lunch before Lyon struck after a sustained period of pressure, bowling the number three batsman with a delivery that dribbled through his legs and onto the stumps.

But on a track that was good for batting, the Indian batsmen continued to make runs. Ajinkya Rahane replaced Pujara in the middle and continued in the same as the others before him.

Rahane was finally dismissed when a Lyon delivery rose sharply after hitting the rough and took his glove on the way to Shane Watson at slip.

Johnson came back into the attack along with Marsh to try and plug the runs, but that did not stop Kohli from completing a well-deserved century.

Sharma, at the other end, looked sublime and found the boundaries whenever he met with a bad ball. He got to the pitch of the deliveries and took Lyon to task, hitting him to the fence at the slightest opportunity.

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Kohli is all set to play his first test as a caption..... Read what Kohli said..

Virat Kohli, long regarded heir apparent to 33-year-old Dhoni, confirmed he would lead India into the first Test against Australia in Adelaide starting on Tuesday. Virat Kohli is determined to make his mark as captain of India, if only for one Test as regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni recovers from a thumb injury on the sidelines.

"I am personally going to go with whatever my gut feel is, & I'm going to set fields according to what I feel. So you might see things quite different from what you usually see. I'm someone who usually goes with what I feel, so it might look funny -- but as long as it's effective” Kohli told reporters at Adelaide Oval on Monday..

A steely-eyed batsman, the Delhi-born 26-year-old wears heart on his sleeve and presents a stark contrast to the more measured Dhoni, whose outwardly tranquil nature has been seen by Indian pundits as a both a blessing and a curse in pressure situations. After India crumbled to a 3-1 series loss in England, Dhoni's captaincy is under the microscope in Australia, where his team were whitewashed 4-0 on the last tour in 2011-12.

India have never won a Test series in Australia but Kohli proved in his rookie season in the side that he had the temperament to thrive on the fast and bouncy wickets Down Under, scoring 75 on a ferocious WACA deck in Perth followed by a defiant 116 in Adelaide

Kohli also found himself on the wrong side of fans on that tour and was fined for making an offensive hand gesture at them at the SydneyCricket Ground.

"I don't mind a fight. I don't mind a bit of chat on the field. A bit of banter. I don't mind all that," who is likely to be targeted by Australia's rowdier supporters. It probably makes me more determined. I'm pretty focused all the time, but that's an added spice that I like. Last time around I enjoyed it. It was too aggressive for me initially... but after a few incidents I figured out there's no other way of playing in Australia, so I'll just be myself." said Kohli.