Dhoni’s poor form a worry for India ahead of second ODI against Australia

Dhoni’s 51 off 96 balls and failing to rotate the strike has brought to focus the rejigging that skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will have to fret upon

Sports News: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s inability to set the pace during middle overs will remain a major cause of concern when India take on Australia in a do-or-die second ODI on Tuesday in their bid to keep the three-match series alive.

Hardik Pandya’s sudden suspension on disciplinary grounds has badly affected the balance of the batting order, which was apparent during team’s 34-run defeat in the opening match despite vice-captain Rohit Sharma’s 22nd hundred in 50-over format. Dhoni’s 51 off 96 balls and failing to rotate the strike has brought to focus the rejigging that skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will have to fret upon.

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With Dhoni being slotted at No 5 even though vice-captain Rohit wants the veteran to bat a notch higher but cues from India’s training session made it clear that the team is unlikely to tinker with the batting order. India’s batting order did come under the spotlight at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The top three (Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli) have enjoyed a fairly consistent run since 2016.

But it was a rare occasion when Dhoni had to come out in the fourth over of the innings. Dhoni averages 52.95 while batting at number four, which is higher than his current career-average of 50.11 over 333 games. It is even higher than his favoured batting positions of number five (50.70) and six (46.33) but batting lower down the order, strike-rate becomes paramount….

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Wasim Akram lauds India’s triumph in Australia, praises batting effort

Akram, one of the game’s greatest fast bowlers, said that the team gelled well as a unit and were ably led by Virat Kohli

Sports News: The Pakistan cricket fraternity, including the legendary Wasim Akram, lavished praise on India for becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia.

Akram, one of the game’s greatest fast bowlers, said that the team gelled well as a unit and were ably led by Virat Kohli.”I think Virat Kohli deserves lot of praise for this performance and I would think this success can be put down to the solid domestic cricket structure in India,” Akram said at a function here.

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On Tuesday, the country’s Prime Minister and former cricket captain, Imran Khan, congratulated India on becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia. “Congratulations to Virat Kohli and the Indian cricket team for the first ever win by a subcontinent team in a test series in Australia,” Khan had tweeted.

Another ex-captain, Moin Khan, said that winning in Australia was never an easy task for any team from Asia and India deserved credit for their victory. Former opener Mohsin Khan said that India had built their success around their batsmen and the bowlers had backed them to the hilt.

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