We lost the plot in ten middle overs - Dhoni

[Rahul Khan]

India's bowling at the ICC World Twenty20 was remarkable for its accuracy and consistency. Sadly, India failed to replicate those attributes during the opening game of the Future Cup against Australia in Bangalore, their first match since becoming world champions in international cricket's shortest format. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in his first game as ODI captain, didn't hide from that, or from India's inability to finish off matches. "We have a problem, just a bit of a problem, when the ball doesn't do too much," Dhoni said. "The white Kookaburra [ball] doesn't do anything after 15-odd overs and we need to work hard on that." Dhoni felt the problem was not with the bowlers but with Indian conditions. "Most of the Indian wickets are batsman-friendly and our bowlers have done well whenever the wickets have anything in them, whether in English conditions or in South Africa." India, Dhoni felt, lost the momentum between overs 32 and 42. "That ten-over spell was not good for us," he said. "If we could have got one wicket it would have benefited us". Recent examples show India's tendency to let opponents off the hook. At the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur a year ago, Australia were on the ropes at 97 for 5 but went on to make 213 and win the match by 18 runs. More recently at The Oval, India allowed Owais Shah and Luke Wright to post 316 and even though India hit back with a two-wicket victory, they knew there was work to be done. And the game today once again supported that fact. Two of the matchwinners in England, Zaheer Khan and RP Singh, lacked consistency today and were easy pickings for Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin. Both walked out nonchalantly to dispatch the fast bowlers over the off side. Zaheer's rusty display might be explained by his suffering a heel injury on the England trip but RP Singh had no excuses for bowling either too full or too wide. Dhoni, though, was not harsh on his bowlers saying, "there are days when the odd bowler goes for runs." Dhoni felt the Chinnaswamy pitch was one of grassiest in the country, but failed to live up to the expectations as the ball lost its shine. "It was a good spell from our new-ball pair. It seemed like a wicket which would do a lot but it was not doing as much later." He had better news about Sourav Ganguly, who had to leave the field as he suffered a hamstring injury in his right leg. "He is fine and will have an MRI scan tomorrow." Read: http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/indvaus/content/story/313037.html

[bharat297]

Yes it is a problem. I put it down to a bit of inexperience from Dhoni as captain, in that he didnt bowl Zaheer or Sreesanth much when looking for wickets in those middle overs, but more than that I believe it is the lack of a quality spinner in those middle overs that can both contain and take wickets . Powar and Chawla have looked promising, but are still learning. Harbhajan is no longer the wicket taker he used to be. It is a problem. Australia have had Hogg in those middle overs, New Zealand have had Vettori, Sri Lanka have had Muralitharan, and England now have Panesar. We need to find that special spinner that can do that job for us long term. To me it is either Powar or Chawla.

[The Outsider]

Middle overs were a problem but so was the decision to bowl Powar at the death. He does not have the bowling style suited for that part of the innings. Made a difference of around 15-20 runs, IMO.

[itduzz]

http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=39805

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

Yes it is a problem. I put it down to a bit of inexperience from Dhoni as captain, in that he didnt bowl Zaheer or Sreesanth much when looking for wickets in those middle overs, but more than that I believe it is the lack of a quality spinner in those middle overs that can both contain and take wickets . Powar and Chawla have looked promising, but are still learning. Harbhajan is no longer the wicket taker he used to be. It is a problem. Australia have had Hogg in those middle overs, New Zealand have had Vettori, Sri Lanka have had Muralitharan, and England now have Panesar. We need to find that special spinner that can do that job for us long term. To me it is either Powar or Chawla.

I dont rate powar at all. Bhajji is much better than him and yes chawla is good.Hope to see more of this lad

[bharat297]

fair enough I must say, even though I believe that Harbhajan has done anything significant outside the subcontinent, I mus say in the pressure overs of the T20 final he did bowl very well to his field. But can he take wickets in those middle overs? Containment is not enough against a quality team like Australia. Might be more useful than Powar in ODIs whereas Powar might be more useful in Tests, but Powar is a genuine spinner with turn and flight and variation. Unfortunately, dhoni used him as a defensive bowler in those hitting overs instead of as an attacking bowler. The only reservation I have about Chawla is how will he respond to batsman going after him.

[Rahul Khan]

Whateva it comes out but Bhajji...is the only solution in these circumstances...say what!

[parasarora1310]

we need someone like kumble to keep things tight and pick up a wicket or two during the crucial middle overs. powar doesnt look like a wicket taking bowler to me. I suggest dhoni should try yuvi n shewag for 2 3 overs each so that batsmen dont have time to adjust to them

[talksport]

Harbhajan can throw that doosra in pressure situations.....but he is a confidence bowler ala srinath...when he gets hit his shoulders are down....and that is the biggest reason why can never reach the heights of kumble and warne