India vs Australia | Dean Jones slams "hypercritical" Indian critics on Dhoni's performance
Dean Jones has expressed his surprise at the amount of criticism MS Dhoni has received for his slow fifty in the first ODI against Australia and has slammed the critics for their outburst. MS Dhoni had scored 51 runs but also utilized 96 balls in the process, for which he faced the ire of critics.
India lost the first ODI match against Australia by 34 runs and many put the blame of the loss on India’s former skipper MS Dhoni's shoulders. Dhoni had utilised 96 balls in scoring 51 runs which did not go down too well with the Indian fans and critics alike. But, former Australian batsman Dean Jones has come to the aid of the Indian wicketkeeper and has slammed the hypercritical Indian media and fans.
"I cannot believe how much criticism MS Dhoni has got about losing the game, and how the press and all the pundits in the world have gone after him," Jones wrote in his column for The Times of India.
"Do people actually not understand what it takes to come in when the team is four for three? Number one, you have got to stop the bleeding, and he (Dhoni) did that. Number two, he got a shocking lbw decision. And number 3, at the end of the game with around six overs to go, Australia were worried, mainly due to the efforts of Rohit Sharma and Dhoni."
While the second-highest scorer of the match for India had faced criticism for his slow scoring rate, the highest-scorer and the centurion of the match Rohit Sharma had faced the chin music for his fitness. Sharma, who scored 133 runs, was seen struggling in the dying stages of his innings fitness-wise in the previous match for which he was criticized.
"And then there’s the criticism that’s been thrown at Rohit saying he’s not fit! The Indian fans are just so hard, so critical," the Australian added.
On the other hand, speaking on the performance of the Australian players, Jones stated that he was happy with the performances put in by Jhye Richardson, who picked four wickets in the first ODI. He also seemed pretty pleased by the performance of the middle order batsman Peter Handscomb, who was the highest run-maker for Australia in the ODI with a score of 73.
"Jhye Richardson bowled (4/26) with some real pace and reverse-swung the ball; his batting shows that there’s something there and that he may just be a replacement for Starc in the future. Overall, I think the batting was outstanding. I was so impressed by Peter Handscomb, and I would like to see him watch his footwork in the one-day game and try to mimic it in Tests if he gets another opportunity to do so," Jones wrote.
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