In a shocking post match press conference India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni singled out poor umpiring decisions, especially of Rahane, and loss of too many wickets, which according to Dhoni, was the deciding factor in India’s 40 run defeat to New Zealand in the first of two match Test series.
When, the second new ball was taken after 80 overs India lost Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, on either side of the tea-break. A factor that proved costly in the final outcome of the match if one goes by Indian skipper’s rants.
Rahane was deemed leg-before off Trent Boult’s bowling despite a big inside edge. However, in the absence of DRS, which is opposed by the board whose team MS Dhoni captains, the decision could not be reversed.
“I am having mixed emotions about this Test match. Close to the 85th over, we lost a few wickets at that point and we had a rough decision (Rahane) at the same time which meant we were short of 30-35 runs and that was the crucial phase,” Dhoni was at his usual best analysing fourth day’s play at the post-match press conference.
The skipper then went onto say that a close Test match like this was equal to three to four normal Test matches in terms of experience.
“Tight games like these give you the experience of three-four Test matches. You learn about the need to break the target down session by session. Hopefully, there will be plenty of players in our dressing room who must have learned a lot out of it,” the heart broken skipper added.
Dhoni when asked to explain his team’s poor form in New Zealand said: “We have been in good positions this series, in the ODIs also, but we have not been able to capitalise on them. Maybe we are still learning and in the second Test we will capitalise if we get into similar situations.”
When asked about Virat Kohli‘s (62) dismissal to a poor shot, Dhoni defended his star player, saying: “We all know the importance of his (Kohli) wicket. It was not only his dismissal, because we also lost wickets after the 80th over as well.”
“The second new ball moved for may be five or six overs. If we would have not given our wickets, we would have got those remaining 40 runs. Also, we had a bad umpiring decision at the same time. So there were quite a few things that did not go our way,”
Dhoni also pointed out that his team’s poor show in the first innings landed them in precarious situation on day.
“In the first innings, both batting and bowling could have been better. We gave away quite a few loose deliveries to score in the first innings because of which we were at the receiving end. Once you get a couple of batsmen going, it was a wicket where you could have gone on to score big and you can see how Brendon McCullum scored.
However unlike many, Dhoni does not feel dropped catches (yes, Indian players dropped as many as four slip catches) were a factor as he went onto.
“Yes, there were a few missed catches also, but those are part and parcel of the game. Anyone and everyone can drop catches. I won’t really point to that.”
Centurion in second-innings Shikhar Dhawan, who had been through a horrible run of form since the tour of South Africa, was singled out by his skipper for splendid performance.
“His (Dhawan) approach to the innings was very important. He is someone who should play his cricket in a free way as he loves to play his strokes. There will always be a few challenges in the sense opposition will have a few plans but you will have to get through it. “
“In the second innings, he was very calm and composed, batted the way it was needed, scored patiently. That was the reason he got a big hundred, and hopefully, it will really boost up his confidence and help him keep going”.
Here is what Sourav Ganguly‘s take on it (Hope Dhoni learns something from his predecessor):
