After the defeat to Sri Lanka, Dhoni looks at brighter side
Pune, Feb. 10: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained positive and said the surprise defeat to Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international has given them the chance to assess the team’s batting frailty ahead of the big- ticket World T20. India’s winning sequence in T20 internationals came to an embarrassing end on Tuesday night after a depleted Sri Lanka pulled off a five- wicket victory to take a 1- 0 lead in the threematch series.
“The good thing is this is the type of pitch on which we have not played for a long time. There were a lot of positives. It was one day everyone got a chance to bat. At the same time there was pressure on all batsmen. Yes, the result did not go our way, but there were a lot of positives to take away from this game,” said Dhoni at the post- game media conference.
“It’s rare that in a 20- over game all wickets fall. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to test everyone. Because it will give us an idea about how deep is our batting. If the top order keeps performing from now on itself, the lower order will not get an exposure and the chance to bat and get tested before the T20 World Cup,” he said.
Dhoni said, “This is a different format. Accordingly we will have to adjust. We should not be looking into the 50- over format. In this format if someone gets 10 off 2 balls we say well played. What is important is we have to see how the wicket behaves. If you chase 140 there is no point in trying to win in 12 or 13 overs. Better to aim for 16th or 17th over. All these things will be a factor ( going forward),” he added.
The skipper felt if India had made 140, it would have been a defendable total on a track that assisted seam bowlers, but at the same time praised the Lankans for bowling in one area.
“If you see, close to 140 was definitely a good score and would have been slightly difficult to chase. But we can’t say whether it was the par score or not, but it was definitely not a 160- 170 score wicket. There was definitely a lot for the fast bowlers, a bit of variable bounce, a bit of spongelike bounce which made it difficult to consistently play the big shots.
“There was definitely something for the fast bowlers if you could keep hitting one area. It depended on how consistently you can keep hitting the right areas. They did not give width and they did bowl well. We also kept losing wickets that added pressure on the new batsmen coming in,” explained Dhoni.
He did not criticise the track and said whatever the conditions they would accept them and play.
“It’s not our fault what kind of wicket we get. Whatever wickets are provided, we will play. We are not bothered about the types of wickets we get.”