Dhoni blasts condition of Asia Cup pitches

India's limited-overs captain MS Dhoni has hit out at the condition of the pitches at the Asia Cup, claiming they are not providing adequate preparation for the ICC World Twenty20. Only the opening match of the T20 tournament has featured a score of over 140, with India hitting 166-6 in a 45-run defeat of Bangladesh.

The pitches prepared at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur - the sole venue for the competition - appear to heavily favour the bowlers. India's five-wicket win on Saturday over Pakistan, who were bowled out for 83, served as evidence of that, and Dhoni believes the surfaces are not allowing the subcontinental teams to ready themselves for the World T20, which starts next month in India.

"The reason why people love T20 is for the sixes and fours," Dhoni said. "You do not want 80s or 100s to be scored. Low-scoring should be a 135 or 130. "The amount of movement we have seen so far, it is very difficult to just come out and play big shots.

"One game we scored [166] but you know it seemed like a game where we will score 140. "Because of the firepower and a few good overs, we were able to score but other than that, all the other games played have been low-scoring games which is not very good.

"We thought it will be a very good practice before getting into the T20 World Cup. When it comes to the hitting, maybe not. "When it comes to reading the game and respecting the condition, it has been good for us.

"We are a side which plays aggressive cricket so it pushes us to respect the condition when the wickets are not batting-friendly."