JOIN USIndia captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stoutly defended his bowlers, Ishant Sharma in particular, and said the pacer had got the backing of the whole team.
The 48th over bowled by Ishant went for 30 runs and took the match out of India’s grasp. Dhoni, however, insisted Ishant bowled well in patches and gave them the wicket when needed.
“There were options; even I could have bowled. But you need to see what the options are. Vinay had just bowled and gone for a few runs. So I thought I’d change it around. I thought I’d bowl Ishant and then see who could bowl the last two.
Always easy to say things after seeing the result. Who would have known that 30 runs would come?,” Dhoni told reporters after India’s shock four-wicket loss against Australia on Sunday.
“It’s not like we had a very bad game, he (Ishant) bowled well in the first few overs, we are talking about one over or two overs. He gave us the wicket, that was the time we really needed the wicket. Overall, you have to see everything. If a batsman plays one bad shot, you can’t judge a batsman. If someone is going through a bad period, that’s when the team backs him,” he said.
Dhoni felt dew has played a big role in the series. “Dew means one team will benefit. We benefitted in the last game; to some extent, we were in a position to win this game but at times it becomes a bit difficult for the bowlers to execute.”
For James Faulkner, the hero of Australian victory, it was yet to sink in. “(Adam and I) didn't feel we could get a hold of the spinner bowling to the long boundary with the carrom ball. I thought the only way we could win the game was to take on the medium pacers from the other end and try and take 20 off each over from that end. I thought that was our only chance to be honest,” said Faulkner, who creamed Ishant for 30 runs in the 48th over with four sixes.