Indian captain M.S. Dhoni said the home team missed the services of R. Ashwin after the off-spinner got injured in the first One-Day International against South Africa at the Green Park here on Sunday.
Dhoni said Ashwin’s unavailability due to a side strain was a major setback to the Indian attack, which let South Africa score freely later in the innings.
“The six overs of Ashwin I really missed in this game. Things were under control in the middle overs.
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“Suresh Raina and (Stuart) Binny conceded fair amount of runs if not a lot. Then the death overs were simply not good,” said Dhoni in the post-match press conference here.
“It is a bit disappointing as reverse swing was on offer. They should have executed their plans better, hitting the deck delivery or yorker could have been used effectively,” he added.
Dhoni said the home team should have maintained the momentum after Ajinkya Rahane’s departure in order to be able to chase down the 300-plus target set by South Africa.
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“We lost the match in the last five overs of either innings. It is crucial that who is batting well takes the team till the end.
“All of a sudden, it is difficult to hit from ball one. We were positioned very well. But I felt around 35-40 overs we failed to get to move on. That would have made things easier.”
A gamble
The Indian skipper said a finisher’s job was always a gamble. “Sometimes it pays and sometimes it does not.
“But that is my role in the side... You have to play the big shots and if the ball is coming on, you can use the pace of the bowlers and get away with it.
“But wickets like these, where the average bounce is low, it becomes difficult to hit. Also when you are going for big shots it works either way.
“Having said that, the shot selection was not great in the final over.
“When you bat down the order, you have to take the blame.
“When you have finished a lot many games, people remember more about the games you have not finished,” said Dhoni.
However, Dhoni backed the Indian batting line-up for its depth.
“I felt our batting was really good. Rahane batting at three, Virat (Kohli) at four, followed by myself, Raina and Binny.
“It looks like a settled line-up with a lot of power and experience to chase big totals. That is why I have said that
“Rahane needs to bat higher up the order. It looks very strong on paper.”