London: MS Dhoni came under fire for slow batting during India’s 31-run defeat against England in their World Cup 2019 clash on Sunday. Chasing a stiff target of 338 to win, India needed 71 runs from the last five overs at Edgbaston, with Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav at the crease. But the pair failed to find the boundary regularly and added just 39 runs to the total as India finished at 306/5. Dhoni was unbeaten on 42 off 31 deliveries while Jadhav was 12 not out off 13 balls.
Following India’s first defeat of the ongoing tournament, the two batsmen were criticised on social media. However, during Dhoni’s innings, his pain went unnoticed. MS Dhoni took a hit on his thumb twice in the game, first while wicket-keeping and once again while batting. The pictures of Dhoni sucking his thumb and spitting blood emerged on the Internet and the fans on social media praised the former India skipper for his dedication and commitment towards the team.
Assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said the criticism levelled at Dhoni surprised him, adding that 37-year-old was “doing the job for the team”.
“Except for one odd innings, he has done the role always. Five out of seven games he has done the job for the team,” said Bangar.
“If you see the earlier games, against South Africa he stitched together a partnership of 70 (the partnership was 74) with Rohit (Sharma). After that, what was required of him against Australia he did that.
“In Manchester on a difficult track (against West Indies) he got a vital fifty for us. Here also he was striking the ball really well. I’m surprised that this question continues to come up every now and then.”
Earlier in the current tournament Dhoni faced flak for his slow knock against Afghanistan, when he scored just 28 off 52 deliveries.
MS Dhoni scored 35 runs off 33 balls against Bangladesh as India posted a total of 314/9. Bangladesh fell short by 28 runs as India became the second team after Australia to qualify for the semi-finals.
