Dhoni laughs off retirement talk
Let down by team mates, Kohli golden World T20 run ends
MUMBAI, April 1, (Agencies): India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni laughed off talk of retirement as he put a brave face on the devastating World Twenty20 semifinal loss to the West Indies.
The hosts came into the tournament with sky-high confidence but also widespread speculation that it could be the last international outing for Dhoni, 34.
But after India’s stunning defeat by seven wickets, it was left to an Australian journalist to put the burning question to Dhoni at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Dhoni then asked the somewhat stunned Sam Ferris of the cricket.com.au website onto the dais, put his arm around him, and turned the tables by becoming the interviewer.
“Do you want me to retire?” he said. “Do you think I am unfit, looking at my running? Do you think I can survive until the 2019 World Cup?”
When Ferris replied that Dhoni indeed looked more than capable of staying in shape until the next 50-over World Cup, a laughing Dhoni then responded: “Then you have answered the question.”
“I wished it was an Indian media guy because I would have asked him if he had a son old enough, and a wicketkeeper, to play!” he said.
The light-hearted exchange came at the end of a painful loss for the wicketkeeperbatsman’s team who had been red-hot fa- India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni plays a shot during the World T20 men’s semi-final match between India and West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 31.
(AFP)
India’s Virat Kohli celebrates after hitting a boundary during their ICC World Twenty20 2016 cricket semifinal match against the West Indies at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India,
on March 31. (AP)
“In the first innings you will have seen there was a bit of assistance for the spinners, it was gripping a bit, but there was nothing much in the second innings.”
Although India’s star batsman Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 89, Dhoni acknowledged that they were about 10 runs short in their innings but refused to criticise his players.
“The only thing I am disappointed about is the two no-balls, other than that we tried our best,” he said.
“Luck is a factor definitely but at the end of the day you have to play good cricket. There’s none of the tournaments we have won was because of good luck. There’s nothing called good luck, you have to execute your plans well.”
Before the match, West Indies’ skipper Darren Sammy had said the semifinal was a “David and Goliath” encounter, with more than a billion Indians willing their team to win.
Victory in the tournament would have been the icing on the cake for Dhoni who also skippered India to victory on home soil in the 2011 World Cup and in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007.
Kohli has already replaced him as Test captain but Dhoni, who is India’s most successful captain, remains a popular figure in the dressing-room.
As the full toss left Andre Russell’s blade and settled deep into the stands, dropping a deathly silence across the Wankhede Stadium, Virat Kohli stood dazed, gazing at the trajectory of the ball and perhaps wondering what else he could have done.
For the umpteenth time in the World Twenty20, the 27-year-old had papered over the cracks in India’s top order, his unbeaten 89 accounting for almost half of his country’s 192 in the semifinal against West Indies.
In between the 11 boundaries and single six that flowed from his bat, the supreme athlete ran himself ragged, regularly converting singles into twos and occasionally two into threes.
Kohli the bowler also resurfaced when it mattered.
The evening dew had effectively defanged the Indian spinners, while their pacers bled boundaries, leaving Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an unenviable position.
The India captain, as is his wont, sprang a surprise by tossing the ball to Kohli and the part-time dibbly-dobbler struck immediately, dismissing the dangerous Johnson Charles (52) with his first delivery and ending a 97-run partnership.
Kohli was in the thick of things again in the 18th over, collaborating with Ravindra Jadeja to almost send back West Indies hero Lendl Simmons.
Jadeja took a running catch but as momentum was taking him over the ropes, he lobbed the ball inside for Kohli to grab. TV replays, however, confirmed Jadeja’s foot had touched the boundary and it was declared a six.
Simmons and Russell set alight a hot and humid night with batting pyrotechnics that left the 2012 champions needing only eight runs off the last over.
“We didn’t feel too much pressure after the short dance. Half of the job was already done. We had really good energy and a good feeling out there on the ice tonight.”
Papadakis added, “We didn’t expect these high scores at all. We were really able to give our very best tonight.
“It took us a moment at the end of our programme to realize what we had achieved and I still can’t believe it.
“I just want to catch this moment and enjoy it.”
With their free dance complete, Papadakis and Cizeron were able to sit back and see what the final competitors of the night would do.
Siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani of the United States also had the audience in thrall as they sailed through their routine set to Coldplay’s “Fix You.”
Fifth-ranked at the worlds last year, the Shibutanis have gathered momentum at every competition this season, but on this night it wasn’t quite enough to overtake the French.
The Shibutanis settled for silver, posting 113.73 for the free dance and 188.43 overall.
Their US teammates Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the 2015 world silver medallists rode the dramatic waves of Rachmaninov concertos into bronze medal position, scoring 113.31 for a total of 185.77 points.
Winning a second consecutive world title was a fine ending to a season that began in a frightening way for Papadakis.
Satoko Miyahara, of Japan, thanks the crowd after her routine during the women’s short program in the World Figure Skating Championships, on
March 31, in Boston. (AP) Gracie Gold of the United States skates in the Ladies Short Program during Day 4 of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016 at TD Garden on March 31, 2016 in Boston,
Massachusetts. (AFP)
She sustained a concussion last August that forced the couple out of the autumn Grands Prix. Her recovery from debilitating symptoms was long and difficult.
After their win on Thursday, she also revealed Cizeron’s skate blade had sliced her knee open, a cut that required six stitches to close.
But Papadakis brushed off that injury, which happened just before they came to Boston, saying “I was back on