A day after a grand dinner at MS Dhoni’s farmhouse in Ranchi, the Indian team got down to practice and prepare for the third ODI against Australia. India, who lead the five-match series 2-0, will be looking to seal the series at Ranchi’s JSCA Stadium on Friday. Dhoni had scored a match-winning half-century in Hyderabad but fell for a golden duck in Nagpur – he would want to sign off in style in front of his home crowd.
On Thursday, Dhoni was seen batting at the nets. BCCI also posted photos of Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar sweating it out at the nets.
Gearing up for Ranchi – 📸📸 from #TeamIndia's training session before the 3rd ODI against Australia #INDvAUS @Paytm pic.twitter.com/WstXhrRa9T
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 7, 2019
India has been in sensational ODI form this year, winning 8 out of 10 matches so far. They had defeated Australia 2-1 in a three-match series before taking the five-match series against New Zealand 4-1.
On Thursday, it was business as usual for MS as he got down to practice even as emotional fans braced for the legend’s last game at home as an India cricketer. After a forgettable run in 2018, he has been in spectacular form this year with four fifties from 8 ODIs. He was named man-of-the-series for his three successive half-centuries in Australia where India won their first ever bilateral ODI series.
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Even during the practice, Dhoni was seen engaging in the longest six-hitting competition as in the video shared by the BCCI, Dhoni, along with Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, and even Yuzvednra Chahal were seen trying to hit the ball as long as possible. Here is the video of the same:
Who could hit the longest SIX? Here's a look at #TeamIndia's fun SIXES challenge at the nets during training in Ranchi #INDvAUS 😎👌 @Paytm pic.twitter.com/syd7YSa3Wu
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 7, 2019
After India’s training session, a few locals had the chance to catch up with MS Dhoni who patiently obliged them selfies and autographs. Here is the video of the same:
No surprises here – Quite the Flavour in Ranchi – @msdhoni #TeamIndia #INDvAUS 😎👌😍 @Paytm pic.twitter.com/hE9jVWs024
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 7, 2019
There is widespread speculation that MS Dhoni might be playing his last game in Ranchi which is his hometown. Ironically, Dhoni, who has shown his magic the world over, is yet to play an innings of substance in his home ground. So far, the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi has hosted four ODIs out of which one against Australia was washed out. India won the first ever ODI at the venue against England in 2013 and another against Sri Lanka in 2014. They lost the last game in Ranchi to New Zealand in 2016.
MS Dhoni has batted only twice in Ranchi with scores of 10* and 11. He did not play the game against Sri Lanka in 2014.
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Virat Kohli has so far scored two centuries in 2019. On Tuesday, he became only the second man to score 40 ODI hundreds after Sachin Tendulkar. Dhoni got out for a first-ball duck but India will be happy with his one-day form this year. He was named man-of-the-series in Australia after scoring three fifties from three matches and played solid knocks in New Zealand as well as in Hyderabad.
However, the Indian team management will be a little worried about Shikhar Dhawan’s form. He last scored a fifty for India in an ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on January 26. Since then, Dhawan has managed scores of 28, 13, 6, 29, 30, 5. 14, 0 and 21.
