Dhoni retires from tests as India lose series
Indian captain to focus on shorter format as Aussies clinch victory
The third test between Australia and India in Melbourne failed to deliver a nail-biting finish on Tuesday but ended with a draw tinged with controversy and the shock retirement of long-serving India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni from test cricket.
The result secured Australia a 2-0 series victory with a match in reserve, but their triumph was quickly overtaken by the bombshell that Dhoni had pulled the pin on his 90-test career to concentrate on the shorter formats of the game.
We lost early wickets, we put pressure on ourselves and we had to fight it out and overall it's a good performance by the team
Displaying his usual serenity, the 33-year-old Dhoni said nothing of his retirement plans and the news was broken on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Twitter feed only minutes after the final question was asked at the post-match media conference.
Batsman Virat Kohli, long Dhoni's heir apparent and stand-in skipper during the first test loss in Adelaide, will lead the team for the fourth and final match in Sydney, the BCCI added, capping a surreal day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Dhoni, fittingly, played an important part in his team's gritty effort to stave off a third straight test defeat on the fifth and final day. He came in to bat with the team in trouble at 141-5 and grafted an unbeaten 24 after tea. Along with number seven batsman Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored eight, he helped guide the tourists to safety.
Though Dhoni's effort was praiseworthy, his counterpart Steven Smith's decision to concede the draw four overs early, rather than push to the end to get the final four wickets for victory, drew jeers from spectators at the ground.