<p>Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made no excuses for India's 95-run loss to Australia in the cricket World Cup semi-finals but said the fast bowlers could have done "slightly better" and Shikhar Dhawan should not have attempted a big shot when they were going smoothly.<br /><br /></p>.<p>India's 11-match winning streak over two World Cups came to a grinding halt as the Men in Blue faltered in their 329-run chase and were bundled out for 233 in 46.5 overs.<br /><br />Electing to bat, Australia rode on Steven Smith's 93-ball 105 to post 328 for seven in 50 overs and Dhoni opined that the Indian pacers could have bowled better.<br /><br />"They played very good cricket, over 300 is always a difficult score, I felt it was just over par, they could have had 350. We came back quite well but I felt we still could have bowled better. The spinners performance was good but I feel the fast bowlers could have done slightly better," Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.<br /><br />Dhoni's run-a-ball 65 stood tall amid a disappointing batting show as he waged a lone battle to take India past the 200-run mark and make a match of it despite the steep asking rate.<br /><br />Shikhar Dhawan (45) and Rohit Sharma (34) started off well with a 76-run opening stand and Ajinkya Rahane contributed with a patient 44 in the middle overs. The Australian bowlers kept getting wickets to keep the Indian asking-rate mounting and Dhoni rued Shikhar's dismissal.<br /><br />"We started okay but they bowled well, they got the reverse swing going. We were happy with where we were at the start of the tournament. We got off to a very good start, Shikhar's dismissal was slightly on the softer side, at a time when we could have had the bowling under pressure. <br /><br />Didn't really need to play a big shot. But you get pressure chasing 300+, makes you do things you don't want to do," he said.<br /><br />"There was too much (for me to do), our lower order can't contribute too much in these conditions. Most of the good teams bat quite deep," he added.<br /><br />On been asked to comment on his future career path, Dhoni the wicketkeeper-batsman said, "Not sure (about next World Cup), I'm 33, I'm still running, still fit. Next year, T20 World Cup, will be time to decide about 2019 or not."</p>
<p>Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made no excuses for India's 95-run loss to Australia in the cricket World Cup semi-finals but said the fast bowlers could have done "slightly better" and Shikhar Dhawan should not have attempted a big shot when they were going smoothly.<br /><br /></p>.<p>India's 11-match winning streak over two World Cups came to a grinding halt as the Men in Blue faltered in their 329-run chase and were bundled out for 233 in 46.5 overs.<br /><br />Electing to bat, Australia rode on Steven Smith's 93-ball 105 to post 328 for seven in 50 overs and Dhoni opined that the Indian pacers could have bowled better.<br /><br />"They played very good cricket, over 300 is always a difficult score, I felt it was just over par, they could have had 350. We came back quite well but I felt we still could have bowled better. The spinners performance was good but I feel the fast bowlers could have done slightly better," Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.<br /><br />Dhoni's run-a-ball 65 stood tall amid a disappointing batting show as he waged a lone battle to take India past the 200-run mark and make a match of it despite the steep asking rate.<br /><br />Shikhar Dhawan (45) and Rohit Sharma (34) started off well with a 76-run opening stand and Ajinkya Rahane contributed with a patient 44 in the middle overs. The Australian bowlers kept getting wickets to keep the Indian asking-rate mounting and Dhoni rued Shikhar's dismissal.<br /><br />"We started okay but they bowled well, they got the reverse swing going. We were happy with where we were at the start of the tournament. We got off to a very good start, Shikhar's dismissal was slightly on the softer side, at a time when we could have had the bowling under pressure. <br /><br />Didn't really need to play a big shot. But you get pressure chasing 300+, makes you do things you don't want to do," he said.<br /><br />"There was too much (for me to do), our lower order can't contribute too much in these conditions. Most of the good teams bat quite deep," he added.<br /><br />On been asked to comment on his future career path, Dhoni the wicketkeeper-batsman said, "Not sure (about next World Cup), I'm 33, I'm still running, still fit. Next year, T20 World Cup, will be time to decide about 2019 or not."</p>