India vs Australia | Number four spot is perfect for Dhoni, opines Sourav Ganguly

Indian fans all across the globe will be more than overjoyed with their national team’s performance over the last couple of months as Virat Kohli & Co. registered another win against Australia. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav starred with the bat as Yuzvendra Chahal picked up six wickets to seal a seven-wicket win in Melbourne and emerge victorious in the three-match ODI series against Aaron Finch & Co.

World Cup-winning captain Dhoni, in particular, was extremely impressive on the Australian soil as he registered three consecutive half-centuries and was also adjudged Man of the Series on Friday. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly lavished praise on the Indian wicket-keeper as he opined that the number four spot is ideal for the CSK skipper.

“The way Dhoni has batted in the series, we have seen him play like this after a long time. India have played well and again won a series 2-1 after being 1-0 down. A lot was said about Dhoni after the Adelaide ODI, where he batted slowly but we spoke about how the innings will give him confidence and that is exactly what happened.

“I think Kedar will play No.5 and Dhoni will play at No.4. So I think India will go with this combination only because you gave someone an opportunity and they grabbed it. So, Kohli at 3, Dhoni 4 and Jadhav at 5 followed by Karthik. No.4 is right for Dhoni because it gives him time to settle in and score runs and build an innings. So this combination is fine,” Ganguly told India TV.

It was a brilliant performance by the 37-year-old as he scored 87 off 114 balls at the MCG. In addition to that, Dhoni set a new record as he became the oldest Indian cricketer to win a Man of the Series award at 37 years and 195 days. Earlier, the record belonged to Sunil Gavaskar who achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in 1987 at the age of 37 years and 191 days.

However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had said that he personally felt that batting at number five is the best-suited spot for MSD.

“MS Dhoni batted at number four in 2016 for a while after that he has been pretty happy playing at number five and six for the team. I personally feel number five is the best-suited spot for him because that allows him to get some game time, finish games off and attack as and when required,” Kohli had explained after the third ODI.