Improvement as a team is required, dejected MS Dhoni says after Eden Gardens loss

Disappointed Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday conceded that India would have to improve as a team in order to produce better results in the future. His comments came in the wake of yet another home series loss.

By winning the second One Day International (ODI), Pakistan has achieved an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The series has already been secured by the tourists, and Team Blue play the third game just for pride.

In the Eden Gardens contest, the Indian bowlers did well to restrict the Men in Green to 250 runs, after Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put 141 runs on the board for the first-wicket-partnership. Dhoni praised his bowling attack, but was not reluctant
to criticise India’s batting giants, who have been struggling for a while now.

"I think the bowlers brought us back in the game. I think when we went in to bat, we lost too many wickets. In the last 30 overs we needed 180, and the key was to have wickets in hand but we never were in a position," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation
ceremony.

"Virat (Kohli) has scored runs for us, but one of the top three needs to be with the middle-order, that will make it easy. We have got the experience in the batting, it is about them coming back to form. Overall we have to improve as a team. We are a good fielding
side, but we have to bowl well and develop," he added.

On the other hand, Pakistan top-order is in sublime form. Jamshed has scored two back-to-back tons in India. Hafeez, who got out in an unfortunate way in the first game, also looked solid on Thursday, and scored a crucial half-century.

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan skipper, was all praise for his opening pair, saying that both batsmen laid a very solid foundation. He, meanwhile, admired his bowlers for sending the entire India team back to the pavilion for 165 only.

"I think the team really played well, specially the way openers started, they gave us a really, really good start and then the bowlers did the job. The way the wicket was playing, I think 300 was on the cards, especially the way the openers were batting,"
he stated after the match.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Jan 4 2013. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry