India vs Australia | MS Dhoni should bat at number four, says Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has stated that MS Dhoni should be the one to bat at the fourth position in the batting order, although he was quick to add that it was his personal opinion and the final decision rests with captain and coach. Sharma scored his 22nd century today and equalled Sourav Ganguly’s tally.
The Indian cricket team started their three-match ODI series against Australia on a losing note falling short by 34 runs chasing a target of 289 runs. While Rohit Sharma went on to complete his 22nd century, it was in a losing cause for no other Indian batsman apart from MS Dhoni and he could stay on the crease and steer the team to victory. And Sharma has been of the opinion that Dhoni would be a better option at no. 4.Â
“Personally, I always feel that Dhoni batting at number four will be ideal for the team but we have got Ambati Rayudu who has done really well now at number four. It totally depends on what the captain and coach think about it. Personally asking, I would be happy if Dhoni bats at four,” Rohit, who scored 133 off 129 deliveries, said at the post-match conference, reported PTI.
Though MS Dhoni took 96 balls to make 51 runs, those came from a juncture where India
“If you look at his (Dhoni’s) overall batting, his strike rate is around 90. Today was a different scenario, when he came out to bat we had already lost three wickets and Australia
“I took my time too because we wanted to get that partnership and losing another wicket at that point, the game would have been dead there and then. So, we had to play dot balls and build a partnership,” he explained.
MS Dhoni was also hard done by an umpiring error when he was declared out, which turned out to be a wrong call on the umpire’s part. Later on, video replays showed that Dhoni was adjudged out Leg Before Wicket(LBW) despite the ball clearly pitching outside the line of the stumps.Â
“We knew we can put some of the bowlers under pressure. Unfortunately, we kept losing wickets at the wrong time; the first three wickets and then when we were going strong with that partnership, unfortunately, MS got out and then we knew it was going to be hard. Since India’s lone review had already been used up by Ambati Rayudu, Dhoni was forced to walk back.
“These things happen, these are the games that will teach you a lot as a batsman, to combat these kinds of games when you lose wickets. But we have said enough about learning now. It is time to go and execute, take the pressure and absorb it,” Sharma said.
After Dhoni fell, neither Dinesh Karthik nor Ravindra Jadeja were able to weave a partnership with Rohit Sharma as both of them got out cheaply. After Sharma fell for the personal score of 133, the game was virtually over for the visitors and they went on to lose the first ODI by 34 runs.Â
“Surprisingly, the ball was reversing quite a bit so to adjust to that is not really easy for the new batter. I don’t think it is a worry, but it is an eye-opener. Sometimes there will be times where no. 6, 7, 8 need to score those crucial runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar did that well and had no support.”
