ICC World Cup 2019: Shoaib Akhtar Takes A Dig At MS Dhoni's Slow Innings Against Afghanistan
Published - 24 Jun 2019, 08:25 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:00 AM
India escaped a shocker against Afghanistan beating them by 11 runs from the jaws of defeat on June 22 (Saturday) at Southampton. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled exceptionally well to steer the game in India’s favour. However, it was MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav’s inability to find the boundaries in the middle overs which almost cost them the game. Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar came down heavily on Dhoni for his slow innings and said it was good wake up for Virat Kohli & Co.
India escaped a bullet: Akhtar
Batting first, India managed to post only 224 runs from their 50 overs against a strong Afghanistan bowling. Skipper Kohli only batted with authority scoring yet another half-century. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav attracted heavy criticism for their poor strike as India registered their lowest total of this World Cup. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Rashid Khan were the pick of the bowlers for the Afghanistan side.
Gulabdin Naib & Co didn’t had an outstanding start to the run chase but an excellent innings from Mohammad Nabi almost won them the match. Jasprit Bumrah was on money to set up the win in the death overs before Mohammed Shami claimed a hat-trick in the last over to prevent any upset.
MS Dhoni was once again at the heart of the trolls following his slow knock and this time it was Shoaib Akhtar who came down hard at him. The former cricketer also said that India escaped a bullet against the Afghans.
“India played very well but not too much as they brought Afghanistan back into the game. Indian batting except Virat Kohli was really bad. They miserably failed in spite of having such a famed batting lineup. MS Dhoni played really-really slow. I can understand that there was a bit of awkward bounce in the wicket but still the amount of dots he played cost India. Indian batting was a bit exposed. But India dodged the bullet and it was a good wake-up call for them,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.
Next up, India will take on West Indies on June 27 (Thursday) who have managed to secure only win from their six games so far.
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