India ODI captain MS Dhoni understands the different needs of the ODI format very well. Having developed himself as one of the finest and most reliable finishers in the 50-over format, India are now looking to create more finishers with Dhoni moving up the order to No. 4. Along the way, this young line-up that has only Dhoni with over 200 ODI caps, may falter, but when they do, they will gain vital experience and a better understanding of the role and its requirements. After the 19-run loss in the fourth ODI in Ranchi, Dhoni said that one needed to be patient with the inexperienced middle-order.
“It's important they get games like these and finally they'll figure out a way what suits them best to chase down a total like this,” he said. “Unless they get an opportunity like this it will be very difficult because that's how you get experience. You can learn a lot by watching but ultimately when you feel the pressure and go through that motion, that's where you learn a lot. It will be a good learning curve for them. Give them some time.”
He also said that it was important to not curb the attacking instincts of modern day players. Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya are batsmen who like to play aggressively and that is what brings the best out in them. “Cricket has changed, people like to play big shots. It is important to not tell them to stop playing the shots; you don't want them to go into their shells,” he said at the presentation ceremony. “They played their shots when the ball was in their area. The Nos. 5 and 6 are quite new, they will learn their own way. Some will play big shots, some will take it deep. Once they have played 15-20 games, they will figure out what works for them.”
Dhoni also said that one reason for India’s defeat was the lack of ODIs they have played over last 18 months. After the South Africa series last October, this is the first ODI tournament India are playing at home. “If you see the last one to one and a half years, we haven't played a lot of ODI cricket,” he said. “In between we had Zimbabwe, we had three games so I can say that the stats don’t reflect the exact scenario because also in that period I have batted at a different position and our top order was batting brilliantly. So, everything is very different. Just in this series, if you see, there have been a couple of games where the wicket was on the slower side.”
He compared the defeat in Ranchi to that of Delhi in the second ODI where once again India lost wickets in a cluster. "I think it was the first 10 [overs] where we gave away a lot of runs and the extras," he said. “The wicket was best to bat on in the afternoon, and it kept getting slower and slower. On a wicket like this when the score is not too much - we were not chasing anything over 6.5 or 7 runs an over - you need partnerships.”
When asked if India were heavily reliant on Virat Kohli, Dhoni said, “No, it’s not like that. When wickets are slow and when the required run-rate is not high, you calculate and at times you play out a few overs thinking ‘If you have a partnership with more wickets in hand in the last few overs you can look to chase down something that’s even seven or seven and a half runs per over for a few overs.
“We have got quite a few batsmen who can do the job. It’s just that we have to give them more time. Batting down the order is one of the toughest things to do. Reason being, whenever you go in, there’ll be pressure to rotate, there’ll be pressure to get some kind of a partnership going. They’ll need time. It’s not easy. You don’t get a player who’s complete, who bats at No. 5, 6 or 7, all the time.”
