ENG vs IND: Former India pacer comes out to defend MS Dhoni

The three-match series between two top-quality cricket playing nations ended in the favour of the host with England pulling the final ODI at the Leeds. The Indian Team will look to answer some pivotal questions going ahead from here on, seeing the World Cup will be played in the same conditions in less than twelve months time. The number four spot conundrum continues to trouble India but something unusual which was observed this time around was MS Dhoni’s batting.

Some cricket pundits believe it was more because of the situation, however, some even questioned his batting technique. If seen on a holistic view, in two games that MS Dhoni batted, Indian team kept on losing wickets from the other end which had put pressure on him to play more responsibly. In the final encounter against England, Dhoni came out to bat ahead of Suresh Raina which meant he is confident to express himself. However, skipper Virat Kohli got out soon and Raina followed the skipper three balls later, which had put more responsibility on Dhoni to play till the end.

MS Dhoni played with bit more responsibility: Zaheer

Further, the wicket which was offered by the Englishmen had bounce and lateral movement at the start which was well supported by the overcast conditions. Keeping all of it in mind, Dhoni played according to the conditions and same is believed by the former Indian speedster Zaheer Khan, who came in support of Dhoni and supported him.

He said, “He walked out today with a positive intent, but what didn’t work in his favour was that Kohli got out soon. Raina too didn’t settle in well and those two wickets put pressure on Dhoni to play a bit more responsibly. Hardik just got going, but he was dismissed for a peach of a delivery.”

Dhoni has always been seen as the finisher for Indian Cricket and has finished games for the team single-handedly. A performance or two shouldn’t define his credibility, which is also believed by Zaheer Khan.

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