A tie isn't bad for us, but we could have been on the losing side, says MS Dhoni
BCCI
Reflecting on the match against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup clash, stand-in skipper MS Dhoni stated that the resultant tie should not be taken for granted, as they could have lost the match. Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad went on to score a century for the national side in the match against India.
Strengthened by the century made by Mohammad Shahzad, Afghanistan gave India a target of 252 runs on a placid track. KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu added 60 and 57 runs respectively to India's scoreboard, giving a concrete start to the innings. However, India was curbed to the initial target at 49.5 overs and concluded the match with a tie.
Dhoni feels that managing a tie was better than losing to the opponents in the game, which could have happened. Siddharth Kaul was uprooted from the crease, without any runs, while Kuldeep Yadav was run out for 9. Deepak Chahar was dismissed for 12 runs. With these losses and the main players resting for the match, the tie should not be taken for granted as per Dhoni.
“There were a couple of run-outs and there are a couple of things I don’t want to talk about because I don’t want to get fined. A tie isn’t bad for us, we could have been on the losing side,” said Dhoni.
“I wouldn’t say we went wrong. It was like a game of golf because we started with a handicap, we rested our main players. It was very important for the fast bowlers to fall back to the back of a length area when there was no swing full. We lost 5-6 overs there. Shot selection is also something we could have done better at as well,” he added.
As MS Dhoni acted as the Captain for the match against Afghanistan, with stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma resting for the game, he appreciated Afghanistan's performance in the Asia Cup. With this, Dhoni completed 200 ODIs as the skipper of the national side.
“I think their cricket has gone up a lot. If you see how they’ve continued playing right from the start of the Cup, it’s been commendable. They’re the one country that has risen through the ranks. Good batting by them – how they fielded, how they bowled was impressive,” he said.
Though Afghanistan had crashed out of the Asia Cup, after the loss to Bangladesh, Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan was ecstatic to have tied up with India. As per him, it's no less than winning a match.
“When you tie with a team like India, it’s like winning. They usually chase easily. It is good for the fans as well,” he said.
