Sports
Dhoni urges batsmen to put up long partnerships
Perth, Jan 29
Ahead of the virtual semi-final
clash against England in the ODI tri-series here Friday, Indian cricket
captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Thursday urged his batsmen to put up long
partnerships and hoped that the team will fix the problem before the
World Cup.
Throughout the One-Day International (ODI) tri-series,
the 34-year-old Dhoni has rued his batting line-up’s inability to
string together long partnerships, which has left them without a win so
far.
“It is important to put runs on the board and defend them,
and we haven’t been able to do that (in this series),†Dhoni was quoted
as saying by bcci.tv.
“We have had partnerships going but we
haven’t been able to capitalise on them. Wickets in hand going into the
death overs is something we like to have and it’s part of our strategy.
We’d like to do that going further.â€
While the Indian captain
acknowledged that the top-order hasn’t contributed with many runs, he
also put the onus on the middle-order to get the team back on track in
case of a jittery start.
“The openers are not a big concern. More
than the top order, in middle order we have lost quick wickets and that
hampers the team's plans,†he said.
“You don’t want wickets to fall in pairs if openers don’t fire. We’ll have to see to that.â€
A
few questions have been raised about India’s batting order where Virat
Kohli has been coming one step below his regular No.3 spot,
relinquishing it to Ambati Rayudu.
Dhoni, once again explaining
the ploy, said that with the inexperienced Axar Patel coming in at No.8,
the team needs more solidity in the middle-order in the form of Kohli.
“If
I am batting at six and I am worried before going for a big shot
whether the following batsman will be able to capitalise in the last
eight overs, it is not a good place to be in. If Virat gets a
partnership going, I am there, Raina is there and we can manoeuvre the
strike and capitalise,†Dhoni explained.
“It is also important to
look at the XI you’re playing and decide which batsman batting where
will benefit the team most. So a batsman who loves to bat at a certain
position will have to sacrifice,†the captain said.
“By the start of the World Cup, we’ll have a better picture of who bats where.â€
Dhoni also said that it is important to remain flexible with the batting order depending on the situation of the game.
He said that in ODIs it’s not the batting position but the number of overs a batsman has at his disposal that is more crucial.
“More
than the batting number, the number of overs is important. If the
openers play till the 38th over, you’d like your No.7 batsman to walk in
rather than the No.3,†he explained.