ICC World Cup 2019: Sanjay Bangar Puts Weight Behind MS Dhoni's Innings
Updated - 08 Sep 2019, 07:01 PM
India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar has put his weight behind the slow innings of former skipper MS Dhoni. The right-hander scored an unbeaten knock of 42 runs from 31 balls against England. Subsequently, India could not get over the line despite having five wickets in hand. Furthermore, Kedar Jadhav lack of intent was also questioned as he scored only 12 runs from 13 balls.
Moreover, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav added 39 runs from 31 balls. They scored only three fours and one six in their partnership. However, both the right-hander did not even try to go for the run-chase as they decided to throw in the towel. Thus, it was sad to see no INTENT from the right-handers. Dhoni and Jadhav had swung their bat on six-seven occasions and had no plan to go for the target.
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However, Sanjay Bangar believes England was right on the money with their bowling. They were able to use the dimensions of the ground to their advantage. Bangar said the Net Run Rate will also come into play to go through to the semi-finals.
“I don’t think so [there was a lack of intent], because if you look at the way they bowled towards the end, they used the dimensions really well and created difficult angles for our batters to hit.
Dhoni could not hit the ground running.
“In those large boundaries and with the type of balls they were bowling – slower bouncers, a lot of into the wicket deliveries, slower balls, I just felt maybe last one or two overs, the difference between runs required and balls left was a bit too much. Had we tried bigger shots earlier, we might have ended a few runs short. It also helps the Net Run Rate a bit with the extra runs.”
In fact, MS Dhoni’s power-hitting abilities have been on the wane in the last two years. Dhoni struggles to rotate the strike against the spinners in the initial phase of the innings. On the other hand, Bangar said that Dhoni has always done justice to his role but he has failed on one or two occasions.
“Except for one odd inning, he [Dhoni] has done the role always. Five out of seven games he has done the job for the team. If you see the earlier games, against South Africa he stitched together a partnership of 70 with Rohit. After that what was required of him against Australia he did that.
“In Manchester on a difficult track (against WI) he got a vital 56 for us. Here also he was striking the ball really well. I’m surprised that this question continues to come up every now and then. He’s doing the job for the team and overall we’re very happy with the intent he’s batting with,” Bangar said.
It was a peculiar inning from MS Dhoni as he didn’t go for the target. India’s net run rate is already good and Dhoni and Jadhav should have gone for the target. However, they choose not to go for it.
Read More: ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 (Match 40): Bangladesh vs India – Stats Preview
India will play their next match against Bangladesh at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 6th July.
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India National Cricket Team Kedar Jadhav MS Dhoni Sanjay Bangar
