No pressure on younger lot despite defeat, says MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni has asked the newcomers in the side to not stop attempting the big shots despite the defeat in the fourth ODI in Ranchi on Wednesday that saw the Kiwis level the five-match series 2-2. The Indian skipper put the loss down to conceding too many runs during mandatory powerplay.
India failed to chase down 261 and lost by 19 runs after Ajinkya Rahane’s fifty and a brisk 45 by in-form Virat Kohli had seemingly set up the launch pad. The newcomers that formed the lower middle-order failed to seal the game despite Axar Patel’s near run-a-ball 38, falling in their attempt to play the big shots.
"The Nos 5 and 6 are quite new, they will learn their own way. Some will play big shots, some will take it deep. Cricket has changed, people like to play big shots," Dhoni told a post-match news conference.
"It is important to not tell them to stop playing the shots; you don't want them to go into their shells. They played their shots when the ball was in their area. They will learn after they have played 15-20 games. Once they have played 15-20 games, they will figure out what works for them and they will serve (for the country) for long," he explained.
The visitors raced to 80 without loss by the 10th over after winning the toss in the day/night game.
"I think it was the first 10 overs when we gave away a lot of runs and the extras. I think (chasing) 230 runs could have been decent, but we could have still chased 260 if we had wickets in hand," Dhoni said.
The final ODI will be played in Visakhapatnam on Oct 29.
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