Australia vs India 2018-19: Ajit Agarkar Slams MS Dhoni For His Slow Knock in Sydney

Former Indian National Cricket team all-rounder Ajit Agarkar has slammed MS Dhoni for his slow knock of 51 runs off 96 balls in the first ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Meanwhile, India went down by 34 runs in the opening game of the three-match series as the hosts took a crucial 1-0 lead.

Chasing a massive target of 289 runs, India lost their first three wickets within four runs. Since then, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni slowly stitched a partnership because another wicket at that point would have ended India’s little chances. However, Rohit slowly started to open up and play his shots while Dhoni struggled. As a result, the required run-rate kept on mounting. The former India skipper departed after scoring a half-century, his first in the last year but he ate up 96 balls. The latest knock has only strengthened Dhoni’s losing ability to fast pace his innings.

Although Rohit Sharma made valiant efforts with a century but couldn’t save his side from losing. As a result, Ajit Agarkar took a dig on MS Dhoni for playing a slow knock which mounted pressure on Rohit.

“Yes, tough situation to come in when you are three down with four runs on the board. And you could argue that the first 25-30 balls, you’ve not been here. But once you are set. I mean Rohit can get 288 all by himself. There has to be a support from the other end. And not from someone who is striking at 50 when he finishes after 100 balls. And, 100 balls are a lot of deliveries in one-day cricket,” said Agarkar in conversation with ESPNCricinfo.

“You can argue for the first few deliveries because the pressure is on and you don’t want to throw your wicket. But eventually, you need to do what the team requires you to do. And if you are not doing it then you got to worry about whether the person is good enough to do it or not. Yes, he got a fifty but even then it was fifty off like 100 balls. That wasn’t helping Rohit at the other end. Dhoni fans might argue that he got a rough one otherwise he could have carried on. But it did not look like in that stage. It seemed that Rohit was doing the bulk of the work,” he added.

India will look to bounce back when they take on the Aussies in the second match on January 15 at the Adelaide Oval.