Former India skipper MS Dhoni is known to be one of the best finishers in the business when it came to chasing down targets. But on Sunday, the greatest finisher in world cricket couldn’t rescue India this time, despite staying until the end, almost.
West Indies had clearly come out with a plan for the fourth game in Antigua. Having to defend just 189, getting early wickets was the key, and the Windies did just that.
Chasing a target of 190, Virat & Co. started off poorly with Shikhar Dhawan (5) and Virat Kohli (3) failing to fire, no one is looking perfect with their bat in this slow pitch. Dinesh Karthik has got a chance in playing eleven but he too failed to score at least two digit numbers.
But all seemed good till Dhoni decided to score 114-ball 54 to completely catch his teammates off-guard. MS Dhoni didn’t look comfortable in the middle but held up an end. Little did he know, that just holding up an end would eventually come to haunt him, as his 114 ball knock of 54 proved quite costly for India.
With just Dhoni and Rahane scoring half-centuries, and then the former getting out, things got tricky for India and thanks to Holder’s five-fear, the hosts stole the game by 11 runs. The loss brings some serious embarrassment for the Indians with the final game now left at Kingston.
After the match, While all the other players were busy in shaking hands with the West Indies team, MS Dhoni was seen sitting in a corner with tears in his eyes. Sad to see one of the best players of Indian team like this. Because he knows the feeling of being loss side ever after giving his 100% as a player.
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The case of Dhoni, this is a bizarre one. Here’s a man is known to be a great finisher. His contribution in India’s run chases over the last decade has been spectacular indeed. But sadly, Dhoni failed to provide the firepower needed to finish it off in style yesterday.
Pitch was low and slow, so do Dhoni’s innings. He reached his fifty off 108 balls with just one boundary and the strike rate of 46.30. This was the slowest fifty by an Indian in 16 years and the second slowest overall by an Indian in ODI history.