Dhoni's captaincy blunders

[putrevus]

I feel yesterday's loss was totally on dhoni, he made so many tactical blunders which played right into pakistan's hand. He bowled bhajji too late when they were struggling with 3 quick wickets and when he bowled him he never gave him attacking field, he is not only in this team as a main spinner but also he is leading wicket taker.both their batsman were allowed to work for singles at will as they settled in without taking any chances. What was the point in virat kohli's promotion yesterday, if he wanted to hold raina back well then yusuf should have been sent as pinch hitter giving him license to go for the kill with dravid holding one end. Why the hell mishra was not in team there is no variation in bowling and why was sachin not asked to bowl even for couple of overs in baffling is he injured. when was last time dhoni won anything big with his bat since he became a captain.

[ViruRulez]

I agree Dhoni made many mistakes in captaincy yesterday but it is acceptable for one game. Ultimately it is not without reason that it is said that "To err is human"

[SachDan]

I feel yesterday's loss was totally on dhoni, he made so many tactical blunders which played right into pakistan's hand. He bowled bhajji too late when they were struggling with 3 quick wickets and when he bowled him he never gave him attacking field, he is not only in this team as a main spinner but also he is leading wicket taker.both their batsman were allowed to work for singles at will as they settled in without taking any chances.

Totally agree with you. Dhoni gave ample time for Shoaib and MoYo to settle down. Although Pathan was going through a good spell, he should have had Harbhajan bowling with him.Instead Dhoni chose Kohli to bowl which made things too easier for the batsmen.

What was the point in virat kohli's promotion yesterday, if he wanted to hold raina back well then yusuf should have been sent as pinch hitter giving him license to go for the kill with dravid holding one end.

Another good point. Even Kohli must have been confused with what to do. Should I go after the bowling or play a normal innings? In the end he perished playing a not so confident shot.

Why the hell mishra was not in team there is no variation in bowling and why was sachin not asked to bowl even for couple of overs in baffling is he injured.

He always preferred 3 men pace attack irrespective of the conditions! Of late Dhoni has been reluctant to bowl Sachin which is baffling indeed. At least should have tried couple of overs from Sachin when other spinners were bleeding runs.

when was last time Dhoni won anything big with his bat since he became a captain.

This is an irrelevant question as he has been one of our main stay in the middle order during crunch times.

[ViruRulez]

He always preferred 3 men pace attack irrespective of the conditions! Of late Dhoni has been reluctant to bowl Sachin which is baffling indeed. At least should have tried couple of overs from Sachin when other spinners were bleeding runs.

I agree on this point. He went on with Bhajji and Yusuf even when they were bowling haywire and should have tried Raina and Sachin instead. Moreover, continuing with Virat Kohli's bowling even when he was smashed the first over itself was a big mistake. But as I said I think he can be forgiven for one day. But Dhoni surely was not his normal self yesterday.

[putrevus]

This is an irrelevant question as he has been one of our main stay in the middle order during crunch times.

[Sachinism]

Can't understand why Bhaji was kept on and Raina not given a chance. Also I would have liked Raina to come in instead of Virat or ahead of Dhoni himself

[Shane]

We lost the Plot after we picked up Younis, we had them on the Mat, giving bowlers like Yousuf and Kohli a spell only to complete the 5th Bowlers quota was a Defensive move, had we Introduced Bhajji then (before they were settled) perhaps we could have broken through. The approach was a defensive one and Pakistan made us pay.

[Riley's Girl]

Can't understand why Bhaji was kept on and Raina not given a chance. Also I would have liked Raina to come in instead of Virat or ahead of Dhoni himself

Agreed. Raina should have been given a chance with the ball and sent in earlier.

[WeStMiDz]

I can understand why Raina was held back, if he came in at four and got out early then the game would have been as good as gone. Raina, I think, has been identified as the powerplayer therefore psychologically having him still in the pavillion may make the batsmen in the middle more at ease. Virat was required to bat sensibly and take us within touching distance of the target in order for Raina and Yusuf to finish it off.

[Sachinism]

I can understand why Raina was held back, if he came in at four and got out early then the game would have been as good as gone. Raina, I think, has been identified as the powerplayer therefore psychologically having him still in the pavillion may make the batsmen in the middle more at ease. Virat was required to bat sensibly and take us within touching distance of the target in order for Raina and Yusuf to finish it off.

IMO Raina is a better player of spin, he can take them on as well, which may either take them out of the attack bring on the seamers to hit or he can take them for runs and get ahead of the run rate

[bunny]

The biggest surprise for me was that Raina didnt bowl a single over on a spinning pitch. The guy has bowled brilliantly in the recent past (including IPL). He has actually bowled better than Yusuf Pathan.

[yoda]

I am surprised Dhoni didn't fault any of his moves during post game conference, like not including an extra spinner or not bowling Raina or ... Hope he is at least taking note of these for the upcoming games whether he decides to talk about them in the open or not.

[Bumblebee]

if a bowler bowls bad in a match, i cant see how can u blame the captain for that?? what if bhajji bowled earlier and he kept the part timers for the later overs and then part timers get thrashed?? it is a gamble which dhoni took could have gone either way! if bhajji was bad from the 26th over, no one can say if he would have turned out good from the 15th over! dhoni's batting, that is what should be blamed. Bhajji is a senior bowler he should have bowled later on is my point of view. He bowled short and got smacked! thatz how it is....he went of for 71 in his 10 overs, if it would have been 50 which is according to him also bad, we would have had a fighting chance!

[Tapioca]

I agree Dhoni made many mistakes in captaincy yesterday but it is acceptable for one game. Ultimately it is not without reason that it is said that "To err is human"

When the time is running out for a captain, the sort of things that once worked beautifully for him begins to go wrong. When Dhoni was "in form" as captain, the same tactical blunders like bringing on Kohli used to work. Promoting himself in the T20 WC was another one. If Dhoni would give Joginder Singh the last over now, he will probably bowl two no-balls both of which will be hit for sixes. Ganguly's last days had a similar feel to it. Once his extreme loyalty to players (like promoting Y Singh and H Singh) even when they were not doing well paid off very well. Five or six years later, the loyal bunch became a millstone around his neck.

[spectre]

The biggest surprise for me was that Raina didnt bowl a single over on a spinning pitch. The guy has bowled brilliantly in the recent past (including IPL). He has actually bowled better than Yusuf Pathan.

Exactly my point I was peeved when Dhoni didn't bowl Raina when everyone were leaking runs the same captain used his bowling so effectively for CSK He has that gift of late release which makes it that bit harder to come down the wicket or slog him, he can be a very handy bowler, someone like Chris Gayle

[Aadhavzone]

I feel yesterday's loss was totally on dhoni, he made so many tactical blunders which played right into pakistan's hand. He bowled bhajji too late when they were struggling with 3 quick wickets and when he bowled him he never gave him attacking field, he is not only in this team as a main spinner but also he is leading wicket taker.both their batsman were allowed to work for singles at will as they settled in without taking any chances. What was the point in virat kohli's promotion yesterday, if he wanted to hold raina back well then yusuf should have been sent as pinch hitter giving him license to go for the kill with dravid holding one end. Why the hell mishra was not in team there is no variation in bowling and why was sachin not asked to bowl even for couple of overs in baffling is he injured. when was last time dhoni won anything big with his bat since he became a captain.

:WTF: