MS Dhoni blames Indian batsmen for defeat – Cricket News Update
Following his team’s 87-run defeat by Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on February 26, Indian skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 put the responsibility for the loss on the shoulders of the batsmen, whom he claims were unable to effectively chase the target.
“We have not done enough with the bat,” he said, going on to criticise the batsmen for their lack of consistency, and their inability to stay put at the crease.
“Since we are not in good form, it's the pressure on batsmen who are scoring runs (to stay put). The Nos. 7, 8 or 9 batsmen are coming in by the 30th over. We were five wickets down after 20 overs. We haven't done well consistently enough,” he observed.
The Men in Blue have performed poorly throughout the ongoing tri-series, winning just 2 of their 7 matches, and are currently occupying the bottom spot on the series points table.
Despite restricting the hosts to a chaseable 252, the batting order again failed to make the most of their outing. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Kohli-c2737 (21) all managed
mediocre scores. After Suresh Raina’s exit on 8, the visitors were 5-89. The skipper himself stepped up to the crease at number 6, but ended up contributing a mere 14 to the total.
While he claimed that he was unwilling to point the finger at any one particular individual, he did point out that the batsmen needed to stay at the crease for as long as possible, and praised Gambhir in this regard.
“The batsmen who are set have to sweat it out because all of us are not in good form. Gautam (Gambhir) did so in a couple of games and we did really well.”
The Men in Blue’s loss against Australia has all but cost them the chance for the finals. Aside from a slim possibility, which will be applicable only if they beat the Sri Lankans (and take a bonus point as well) in the upcoming match at Hobart, on February
28 - the Indians are all set to bow out of the competition.
While the under-fire captain admitted that the chance was realistic but slim, he added that perhaps the team would be able to perform better, since there was nothing to lose, and consequently, no pressure.
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