MS Dhoni can't be blamed for slow knock entirely, say experts

Just two days ago, MS Dhoni compared himself with wine when asked how he is getting better with age after his unbeaten, 79-ball 78 helped India post a decent 251 for 4 in the third ODI against West Indies at Antigua

Kiran More

Just two days ago, MS Dhoni compared himself with wine when asked how he is getting better with age after his unbeaten, 79-ball 78 helped India post a decent 251 for 4 in the third ODI against West Indies at Antigua. India went on to bowl out the opposition for 158 in 38.1 overs to win by 93 runs.

Then came the fourth ODI at the same venue and the proven finisher was a pale shadow of his usual self. He went on to score the slowest ODI innings in his career — 54 off 114 balls and India ended up losing a game they should have won hands down.

The 'new finisher', Hardik Pandya scored 20 off 21 balls, but a lot of fingers were pointed at the former skipper for the way he batted.

Praveen Amre

"When I heard in the morning that India lost, I was really disappointed, but you can't blame Dhoni for this defeat. What about the others at the top? What about their responsibility? Blaming Dhoni is the in thing now, but that's not right because no one can question his intent. Success and failure are part and parcel of the game. He succeeded in the last match, but failed this time… it happens in cricket. Mind you, he hasn't failed entirely, he has scored a fifty and was the second highest scorer in the match behind Ajinkya Rahane," said More.

The former stumper reckoned that fatigue has set in and one shouldn't blame the players for the below par cricket. "Look at the amount of cricket these guys are playing. There was absolutely no breathing space between the IPL, Champions Trophy and now this series in the West Indies. You can see that they are tired. There is no interest in this series. I don't think too many people are even following this series closely," added More.

Former India middle order batsman Praveen Amre didn't watch the match but said, "Dhoni is a very senior and experienced cricketer. If he has failed then there has to be some reason behind his failure. It could be the slowness of the track, the uneven bounce, the attack etc. He just played a great knock in the third ODI, so one can have an off-day. There is nothing wrong with that."

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