Know to take wins and losses in equal measure, it wasn't surprising to see India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintain his poise after his side's 214-run defeat — their worst loss on Indian soil
India players attend the post-match presentation ceremony after their defeat to South Africa at Wankhede Stadium yesterday
Know to take wins and losses in equal measure, it wasn't surprising to see India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintain his poise after his side's 214-run defeat — their worst loss on Indian soil."I don't even count it as a bad performance," the skipper joked when asked about the defeat.
India players attend the post-match presentation ceremony after their defeat to South Africa at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
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"Yes, we dropped few catches, we bowled too short at the start, but I think up to 20-25 overs we were in control. Later on, they started to accelerate. And 439 runs was a very difficult target to chase. We were optimistic about chasing up to 350 and fight it out, but later when even 10 runs increase, it puts a lot of pressure." Yesterday, India put on their poorest performance on the field in the series.
They dropped five catches which included centurions AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock. Dhoni admitted it was the worst fielding performance that his team has dished out. "As far as fielding is concerned, it was one of the worst I have seen in my career," he said.
Post-mortem needed
Dhoni said a proper post-mortem would be done to understand India's shortcomings. "As a leader, you have to think what went wrong because if you don't know the problem, it is very difficult to find solution. What is important is to realise what things are not working. Maybe in the bowling department, maybe in batting. It may be a middle-over partnership… these are small things," he said.