India vs New Zealand 2019: Sunil Gavaskar Lavishly Praises MS Dhoni, Says His Experience is Handy For the Team
Published - 31 Jan 2019, 06:47 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:59 PM
Former Indian National Cricket team skipper Sunil Gavaskar has hailed MS Dhoni saying that his experience comes very handy to the team. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni has missed the last two encounters with a hamstring injury. While he returned to training prior to the fourth ODI but the management decided not to risk him with the series already done and dusted.
The men in blues, however, suffered their first defeat on this tour as they went down against New Zealand by eight wickets. Pacer Trent Boult ran down the Indian batting order as they failed to offer any resistance. The middle-order literally gave up with Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu getting out for a duck. Moreover, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal topped the batting chart with 18 runs. As a result, Sunil Gavaskar feels this is exactly where MS Dhoni holds the key.
Praising Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar said that the wicket-keeper batsman knows how to pace the innings. Gavaskar also admitted that if someone sticks with Dhoni, he is capable of adding valuable runs for his side. The cricketer from Jharkhand also knows how to accelerate at the end of the innings which makes him pivotal for the side.
“His (MS Dhoni) experience comes in very handy, of course, the fact that he has got so much experience, he can pace his innings. If wickets have fallen early, then MSD is a kind of a player who will make sure that he hangs in there and accelerate towards the end of the innings. So yes, I think experience comes in very very handy no question about it. If a batsman at the other hand sticks around with him, he will add valuable runs for the team,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
New Zealand pull one back
Meanwhile, it was an easy chase for the hosts as Martin Guptill provided a swashbuckling start after having India for 92 runs. Guptill smashed one six and two fours in the first over of the pursuit before Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed him in the next delivery. Since then, New Zealand stumbled only once to chase down the target in 15 overs.
Previously, Trent Boult bowled ten overs on a trot to return with figures of five for 21 including four maiden overs to skittle the visitors. In addition to, Colin de Grandhomme picked three to bowl India out which saw Yuzvendra Chahal topping the score chart with 18 runs.
