Virat Kohli defends MS Dhoni's slow batting, says we all have bad days

MS Dhoni walks back after being dismissed for 37 against England at Lord's in London. Pic/AFP

It was a well laid out England plan which the Indian team was trapped into. The greenish tinge on the surface was a mere cover-up. Underneath the Lord's pitch, it was bone dry and with hot sun beating down on it, it was bound to help the spinners as the game progressed.

The England think-tank knew that regardless of winning or losing the toss in the second ODI, they would be batting first, as India's preferred choice is to chase down a target.

Eoin Morgan was the only player to make it to the ground on the eve of the match and have a talk with the head groundsman. Then he had a look at the pitch with the curator. On the advice given by the curator, he planned to bat on winning the toss. It surprised the pundits, as all the matches so far have been won by teams chasing. But, in the end it was indeed a courageous decision which paid off as England won the second ODI by 86 runs to level the three-match series 1-1. Batting first, the hosts scored 322-7 in 50 overs. In reply, the visitors were bowled out for 236.

Virat Kohli

Our plan worked: Morgan
"The toss worked out well for us as we followed the plan we had discussed. It was a matter of trusting advice [of the curator] and going by my gut feeling. I knew if we put up a big total, and with the wicket a bit slow and affording turn, the Indian batsmen would struggle on it while chasing, especially if we managed a couple of early wickets," Morgan said on his decision to bat first.

He added: "I thought we bounced back really well. We learnt from Trent Bridge. Joe Root's play against spin set up the backbone of our innings. He played a crucial part. David Willey's batting has progressed this summer and it had an effect on his bowling which I thought was outstanding."

Dhoni booed
Indian captain Virat Kohli defended MS Dhoni's crawl (37 off 59 balls) and the boos he received from the crowd. Kohli said: "Yes, he had a bad day. We all have bad days. Today was a bad day for everyone. The idea [behind Dhoni's crawl] was to take the innings deep as we did not want to lose by a big margin. But we should understand, some days it just doesn't come off," Kohli said in Dhoni's defence.

Kohli felt that batting became difficult as the pitch got slower. "We started pretty well with the bat, but as the wicket got slower and when we lost three wickets in three overs that hurt us. I thought that's where we fell behind.

"Today was a day when we couldn't get going. Moeen [Ali] and Rashid [Khan] are both quality bowlers in this format and sensed we couldn't take risks. They created pressure in the middle overs. If it was one down, we could have attacked a bit more," Kohli said. Joe Root, who scored 113 off 116 balls, was awarded man of the Match.

Also Read: Unfortunate Dhoni's finishing skills are questioned again and again, says Virat Kohli

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