Ahead of the ODI series in Sri Lanka, India Chairman of Selectors MSK Prasad made it pretty clear that if former captain MS Dhoni wasn’t performing they have to look at alternatives. However, what transpired from the 2nd ODI at Pallekele, will surely shout down Prasad’s mouth as the former captain played an exceptional knock and staged a dramatic come from behind for India after being tottering at 131/7 at one stage.
It was Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who stitched together an unbeaten 100-runs partnership for the 8th wicket which eventually helped the visitors to chase the total down with 16 deliveries left in the match. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar scored his maiden ODI fifty in a crunch situation, Dhoni, whose place in the side has been questioned, remained unbeaten on 45 to ensure India reach the target without any further hiccups.
Meanwhile, former Indian batsman and a known face in the commentary panel, Sanjay Manjrekar is of the opinion that despite Dhoni’s indifferent form of late, his future shouldn’t be decided by his past. He felt that if Dhoni is still the best wicket-keeper batsman, then he undoubtedly deserved to be a part of the team.
Taking to his twitter handle, Manjrekar wrote,
“Dhoni’s future should not be decided by his past. If he is the best keeper batsman in the country, he deserves to be in the team.”
Dhoni's future should not be decided by his past. If he is the best keeper batsman in the country he deserves to be in the team.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 24, 2017
The former captain smashed a solitary boundary during his 68 balls stay while Bhuvneshwar’s unbeaten knock of 52 was laced with four fours and a huge hit over the fence.
It was a tough blow which left the Sri Lankans stunned. After the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan provided a solid start, the visitors were pegged back with a brilliant piece of bowling by Akila Dananjaya.
The bit of everything bowler foxed the Indian batsmen on a consistent basis and bagged most of his wickets with the back of the hand wrong-un despite being a traditionally off-break bowler.
Dananjaya reduced India to 131/7 from 109/0 and finished with an excellent spell of 6/54 in 10 overs, but despite his dream day, the hosts couldn’t finish on the winning side.