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Dhoni blames batsmen for loss

Last Updated 17 December 2012, 16:45 IST

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday attributed India’s series defeat to England to the failure of the batsmen to put big runs on the board.

“In this series the batting was the department that was lacking. Mumbai was a tough wicket, but apart from that we were not able to get into big partnerships. In cricket it’s not about who is scoring how many runs. It’s more about how big the partnership is. We were not really able to have those big partnerships that can have big impact,” Dhoni told reporters.

The Jharkhand man also lauded England pacer James Anderson for coming up with consistent spells that put his team under pressure.

“Their two spinners are very good while Anderson bowled very well throughout the series on wickets that offered no help for fast bowlers. That was crucial for England and that tested the batsmen all the time – getting reverse swing in the second spell or third spell. The major difference between the two sides was Anderson.”

The Indian fielding has been sub-standard, to say the least, in this series but Dhoni said there have been signs of improvement.

“We have seen improvement in fielding, especially in this Test match. We had a few young players who we can place at different places. That had a big impact. At times we restricted them from taking easy singles and from rotating the strike freely. Yes, a few catches were dropped but again that’s part and parcel. You need to keep practising.”

Sachin factor

Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement has been a big talk during the series, and when asked whether the Mumbaikar would continue to play Tests, Dhoni restricted his reaction to a simple: “I hope so.”

Dhoni was expected to slam the pitch for its docile nature, but the Indian skipper rather surprisingly praised the efforts of the curator here. “There is no recipe for a good wicket. The Mumbai wicket was a good one. But if the effort is there to make a good wicket, it is accepted. It (Nagpur) was a wicket maybe on the flatter side, but at least the effort was there to make a good wicket.”

Finally, the question came to the revenge part, and as expected, Dhoni rubbished the notion attributing it to media’s creation. “We don’t make any propaganda. That’s media’s job – 30 minutes show, one-hour show.

It’s important that when two big sides are playing things like revenge are kept aside. Sides that play better cricket for a consistent period of time win the series.”

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(Published 17 December 2012, 13:44 IST)

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