Dew became a deciding factor, believes MS Dhoni
Last updated on Thursday, 31 March, 2016, 09:53 PM
MS Dhoni felt the conditions made it hard for the spinners © Getty
Spin has been India's potent weapon, more so at home, but the Ravinchandaran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combo leaked 68 runs in the six overs bowled between them as West Indies successfully chased down 193 to make it to the final of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 on Thursday (March 31). And the disappointed Indian skipper MS Dhoni, in his post-match conference, time and again highlighted the difference dew made during India's 7-wicket loss to the Caribbean side, saying that the conditions in the second innings made it impossible for him to rely on his spinners.
"It was a bad toss to lose. The first few overs when they started batting were fine, but after that there was a considerable amount of dew which meant the spinners couldn't bowl how they would have liked to. It was coming on nicely and the ball was getting wet, so that was the difference between the first innings and second innings.
"The surface had some assistance for the spinners, it was gripping but in the second innings there wasn't much in it for them.. Once the dew comes in, it becomes difficult for them to turn the ball. The seam gets wet and the surface becomes a bit greasy, so it comes onto the bat nicely. I feel we have seen that our spinners do struggle in conditions like these," Dhoni said, acknowledging the difference an early start made to the all-important game.
Ashwin has been, for the longest time, Dhoni's go-to man and the captain summoned him as soon as he could spread the field. However, his two-over spell cost India 20 runs and the offspinner was taken off the attack. Asked whether he was saving him for bowling in death, Dhoni said assessing the game situation, he wasn't planning to re-introduce Ashwin.
"No, it was not on my mind looking at [Andre] Russell and the big hitters, and the amount of purchase there was on offer. That was not the best time for him to bowl. When the wicket is turning I like to take that gamble of keeping a few overs of the spinner so that if needed, I can make him bowl, but if not, I'll waste that one over."
Earlier in the day, much to the surprise of a packed Wankhede, Dhoni dropped Shikhar Dhawan and drafted the local hero Ajinkya Rahane in the opener's slot, the rationale behind which was giving weightage to Rahane's style and familiarity with the conditions over Dhawan's indifferent form.
"Shikhar has been batting quite well but he has not been able to convert. Rahane is he is someone who is quite calm and composed and he knows his responsibility in the team. This is the kind of innings that is expected of him. He isn't someone who is going to bat like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. If you see, someone who is orthodox can give us that platform from where we can launch and score those extra 10-15 runs in the last few overs.
"Both of them are very good but it's just that Shikhar wasn't able to convert starts. In games like these often you want to give the new guy a go... if you see the stats, Ajinkya in the IPL has been among the leading run-scorers as opener. I'm glad that after facing a few deliveries he got a start and did what he does best." Dhoni said, stressing on India's horses for courses policy.
On a flat wicket laden with runs like the one on offer at Wankhede - where 230 has been chased down successfully - it can often derail the thought process of the team batting first, leaving them unsure of what would indeed be a safe score to defend later. The Indian skipper however believes reviewing the game situation from time to time and playing to their strengths has produced results for India, rather than looking at a premeditated score to put on.
"We have to keep reviewing. If you see the Indian brand of cricket, we take one or two overs. We see how the wicket is behaving and according to that we say 'okay, next five overs, let's do this. At the end of this over if we have not lost too many wickets, this is where we should be.'
"And that has been our strength because of which we always get a score that is a par plus. Right from the start if you think about the big hitters and start looking as 210 as a good score, you may end up getting only 160 or 170 and that may not be enough on a wicket like this.
"What we have seen in this format is that nothing is a safe score. We have seen 220, 230 also getting chased, so depending on your strength and the depending on the wicket we say this is the score and make sure we reach there," Dhoni summed up.
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