MS Dhoni the 'Santa' wishes Merry Christmas to fans

Dhoni, who hit the winning runs in India's T20I win over Sri Lanka on Sunday, led the festive mood after victory wearing a Santa Claus hat in a picture posted on the Indian team's Instagram account.

Photo: Twitter (@hardikpandya7)

New Delhi: The most successful year in Indian cricket history ended with another win on the Christmas eve as the hosts beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the third T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to win the series 3-0. And after the win, the Men in Blue chose to add a bit of red to their celebrations to get into Christmas mood.

Dhoni, who hit the winning runs in Sunday's win, led the festive mood wearing a Santa Claus hat in a picture posted on the Indian team's Instagram account.

Merry Christmas to everyone from #TeamIndia

A post shared by Team India (@indiancricketteam) on Dec 24, 2017 at 10:05am PST

"Merry Christmas to everyone from #TeamIndia," read the message with the picture that had assistant coach Sanjay Bangar in the frame with Dhoni.

Allrounder Hardik Pandya followed suit and this time he gathered more of his team-mates in the picture wearing the 'Santa Hat'.

Merry Christmas everyone pic.twitter.com/z9G3J5nCXJ — hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) December 24, 2017

"Merry Christmas everyone," the caption with the selfie posted by Pandya read.

After ending a successful home season, India will embark on their overseas journey to South Africa in the new year for a gruelling tour that begins with the first Test on January 5.