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MS Dhoni has surpassed Sourav Ganguly as India's most successful skipper with 22 Test wins. TOI takes a look at what makes the Indian captain tick...

Calm and Composed: Both VVS Laxman andRahul Dravid have mentioned during their commentary stints that the one quality that serves MS Dhoni well is his equanimity. Even after the World Cup win, he didn't get too delirious. One also didn't find him flustered or depressed after humiliating defeats in England and Australia. His phlegmatic nature has helped him keep things in perspective in a country where emotions can be extreme.

Hands-on, but not too over-bearing: It's no secret that Dhoni enjoys leading a young group and prefers to empower them with confidence and promise of a long run. As skipper, he also likes to give the players a free hand. Players like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara have all revelled under him.

Solid contributor down the order: The 31-year-old has played momentum-changing knocks. In Chennai, his brutal 224 was morale-sapping for the Aussies. In conditions where the ball doesn't move or bounce, he has murdered even good attacks with his strong bottom-hand style of batting. Even bowlers like Steyn and Morkel bore the burnt of his fury in Kolkata in 2010.

Inheritor of a great side: The transition from Kumble to Dhoni was largely free of turbulence because India had a settled side. Who wouldn't want to captain a team with batsmen like Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman? The quintet was in peak form from 2008 to 2011 with Tendulkar and Dravid enjoying a productive second wind. Before R Ashwin emerged on the scene, the bowling too was in good hands with Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh forming a penetrative quartet.

Maximised Home advantage: Kumble's departure as skipper proved timely as Dhoni got to captain a side that was scheduled to play plenty of Tests at home or in subcontinent conditions for almost two and a half years. Barring the Test series in New Zealand in early 2009, India played inAsia till Dec 2010, when they played in South Africa. It allowed Dhoni the time to settle down as skipper, in conditions where he could control the game. His struggles started from the tour of England post the World Cup, where the batsmen failed collectively and key bowlers like Zaheer Khan got injured.

Reinvented himself As skipper: Dhoni appeared stale and defensive in Australia and in the home series against England. His fields were defensive and he became more of a reactive captain. That his bowlers weren't consistent and his batsmen were in poor form didn't help. Now that the runs are flowing again and Ashwin is back to his very best, one is seeing a more expressive Dhoni, both as captain and skipper.

DRAVID about VIRU

DRAVID ON SEWAG'S PERFOMANCE

NEW DELHI: Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that the national selectors must take a call on whether to continue with struggling Virender Sehwag as an opener in the Test series in South Africa later this year or give someone else a chance. 

"I think the selectors and management need to decide whether they are going to open with Viru (Virender) in South Africa," Dravid said. 

"I mean Viru playing well, Viru at his best, is a great asset to any side, but the reality is that he hasn't been performing particularly well, and he hasn't really done well on overseas trips over the last two or three years. 

"If they feel confident about opening with Sehwag in South Africa, then I think it makes sense to continue with Sehwag and give him the opportunity to get that confidence," he added. 

Even though India registered commanding victories in the first two Tests against Australia in Chennai and Hyderabad, the opening partnership between Sehwag and Murali Vijay could produce only 11, 16 and 17 runs. While Vijay scored a fine 167 in Hyderabad, Sehwag has totalled only 27 in his three innings. 

The selectors will be picking the Indian squad for the last two Tests against Australia on Thursday. 

After the two remaining Tests against Australia, India have no more five-day games scheduled before their trip to South Africa at the end of the year and Dravid felt that a young opener should be tested in home conditions first before throwing him in front of the new ball in foreign conditions. 

"I think it makes sense to try out another youngster, or try out another opener, and give him the opportunity to play at least a couple of Test matches in more familiar conditions, before going to South Africa. 

"I think it will be unfair on any young opener to be asked to go to South Africa straightaway, and play against the likes of Steyn, Philander and Morkel," Dravid said. 

He was of the view that the selectors could explore the option of moving Sehwag down the order. 

"If they are going to look ahead, I think there could be a realistic possibility of Sehwag coming into the middle order," Dravid said. 

"You know if opportunities open up at some stage, maybe Sachin is going to move on, then I think Viru is the man with the experience to be able to come in and bat in the middle order. He has said in the past that he would like to, and that could be an option," he insisted. 

Sehwag has failed to fire in five consecutive Tests after getting a hundred in the opening game of the home series against England at Ahmedabad in November-December last year. 

He was unable to score even a half-century in two home Tests against New Zealand. 

During India's last overseas tour, in Australia, Sehwag scored just 198 runs in eight innings.

LEGENDARY VISIT :) AKON 2 MUSCAT


Muscat: Close on the heels of the successful completion of Shah Rukh Khan's Temptation Reloaded concert, Light and Shadow Enterprises LLC is set to bring to Oman the internationally renowned hip-hop singer, songwriter, and producer Akon.

Multi-platinum-selling singer and Grammy nominee Akon will perform in Muscat on April 11 at the Oman Automobile Association grounds.

Rajeev Chowdhary, managing director of Light and Shadow, said, "We, at Light and Shadow, try to bring world-class entertainment to Oman. We have brought to Oman stars as famous as Shah Rukh Khan. We are now happy to present Akon to Oman."

New generation
He added, "Once again, the doors will open to a mesmerising evening. You can expect an evening of live entertainment for the new generation. Akon will be live in concert, coming from the streets of America to the hearts of Oman. In line with the continued success of the Light and Shadow team, the upcoming event promises to be a night of magic with the well-known R&B and hip-hop artist."

The tickets for the event will go on sale next week.
Akon rose to prominence in 2004, following the release of Locked Up, the first single from his debut album Trouble.

According to a press statement from Light and Shadow, "Being raised in an environment that treasures the true artistic value of musicianship and revels in the mastering of an instrument, it was Akon's deep-rooted love and passion for music that encouraged him to record his tracks. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which eventually released Akon's debut LP Trouble in June 2004. It was this set that catapulted him to international stardom. He has since founded two successful record labels: Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. His second album, Konvicted, received three Grammy nominations in two categories: Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Smack That and I Wanna Love You.

Number one slot 
"He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice, and the list of achievements continues. In 2011, the heartthrob placed 5th on the list of 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa. The Billboard charts ranked among the top performers several times. He has won fans across the world with his fast claim to success," the statement claimed.

"Akon is a big star with a huge fan following. He has already won the hearts of young Omanis and expats. With that in mind, we are ready to bring a large-scale event to Muscat, with an expected audience of 20,000 fans," stated Akshay Chowdhary, director of Light and Shadow.

Among the Grammy-nominated singer-producer Akon's hard-edged hip-hop and catchy dance-floor hits to have achieved cult status internationally is the rendition for the Chhammak Challo song from Shah Rukh Khan film Ra. One.

Highlights of Union Budget 2013-14

BORROWING
* Gross market borrowing seen at 6.29 trillion rupees in 2013/14
* Net market borrowing seen at 4.84 trillion rupees in 2013/14
* Short-term borrowing seen at 198.44 billion rupees in 2013/14
* To buy back 500 billion rupees worth of bonds in 2013/14
SUBSIDIES
* 2013/14 major subsidies bill estimated at 2.48 trillion rupees from 1.82 trillion rupees
* Petroleum subsidy seen at 650 billion rupees in 2013/14
* Revised petroleum subsidy for 2012/13 at 968.8 billion rupees
* Estimated 900 billion rupees spending on food subsidies in 2013/14
* Revised food subsidies at 850 billion rupees in 2012/13
* Revised 2012/13 fertilizer subsidy at 659.7 billion rupees
GROWTH
* India faces challenge of getting back to its potential growth rate of 8 point
* India must unhesitatingly embrace growth as highest goal
SPENDING
* Total budget expenditure seen at 16.65 trillion rupees in 2013/14
* Non-plan expenditure estimated at about 11.1 trillion rupees in 2013/14
* India's 2013/14 plan expenditure seen at 5.55 trillion rupees
* Revised estimate for total expenditure is 14.3 trillion rupees in 2012/13, which is 96 point of budget estimate
* Set aside 100 billion rupees towards spending on food subsidies in 2013/14
REVENUE
* Expect 133 billion rupees through direct tax proposals in 2013/14
* Expect 47 billion rupees through indirect tax proposals in 2013/14
* Target 558.14 billion rupees from stake sales in state-run firms in 2013/14
* Expect revenue of 408.5 bln rupees from airwave surcharges, auction of telecom spectrum, licence fees in 2013/14

CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT
* India's greater worry is the current account deficit - will need more than $75 billion this year and next year to fund deficit
INFLATION
* Food inflation is worrying, will take all steps to augment supply side
TAX
* Proposes surcharge of 10 point on rich taxpayers with annual income of more than 10 million rupees a year
* To increase surcharge to 10 point on domestic companies with annual income of more than 100 million rupees
* For foreign companies, who pay the higher rate of corporate tax, the surcharge will increase from 2 pct to 5 per cent.
* To continue 15 point tax concession on dividend received by India companies from foreign units for one more year
* Propose to impose withholding tax of 20 point on profit distribution to shareholders
* Amnesty on service tax non-compliance from 2007
* 10 billion rupees for first installment of balance of GST (Goods and Services Tax) payment
* Propose to reduce securities transaction tax on equity futures to 0.01 point from 0.017 point
* Time to introduce commodities transaction tax (CTT)
* CTT on non-agriculture futures contracts at 0.01 point
CORPORATE SECTOR AND MARKETS
* To issue inflation-indexed bonds
* Proposes capital allowance of 15 point to companies on investments of more than 1 billion rupees
* Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) can use investments in corporate, government bonds as collateral to meet margin requirements
* Insurance, provident funds can trade directly in debt segments of stock exchanges
* FIIs can hedge forex exposure through exchange-traded derivatives
* Investor with less than 10 point stake in a company will be regarded as FII, more than 10 point stake as FDI (foreign direct investment)
* Stock exchange regulator will simplify know-your-customer norms for foreign portfolio investors
* To implement quickly recommendations of financial sector legislative reforms commission
* To cut factory gate duty on trucks to 13 pct from 14 pct
POWER AND ENERGY SECTOR
* Zero customs duty for electrical plants and machinery
* Move to revenue-sharing from profit-sharing policy in oil and gas sector
* To equalise duties on steam and bituminous coal to 2 point customs duty and 2 point cvd (countervailing duty)
FOREIGN TRADE
* To cut duty on exports of precious and semi-precious stones to 2 point from 10 point
* No duty on import of ships, vessels
BANKING
* To provide 140 billion rupees capital infusion in state-run banks in 2013/14
DEFENCE
* To allocate 2.03 trillion rupees to defence in 2013/14
AGRICULTURE
* To allocate 801.94 billion rupees to rural development in 2013/14
* Plan to allocate 270.49 billion rupees for agriculture in 2013/14