England all-rounder Ben Stokes recalled in his book that he was baffled by Indian batters’ approach to the chase against England in 2019 World Cup match which India lost by 31 runs.
Ben Stokes said there was little or no intent from MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav in the run chase.
The English all-rounder also termed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s batting in the run-chase “mystifying”.
In his book On Fire, Stokes has analysed each of England’s game in their World Cup-winning campaign. Recalling the India game, Stokes wrote how he saw no intent from Dhoni or his partner Kedar Jadhav towards the end of the run-chase. Both Dhoni and Jadhav remained unbeaten of 42 and 12 runs respectively as they decided against going all-out in the chase despite having wickets in hands.
“Arguably, the way MS Dhoni played when he came in with 112 runs needed from 11 overs was even stranger. He appeared more intent on singles than sixes. Even with a dozen balls remaining, India could still have won. There was little or no intent from him (Dhoni) or his partner Kedar Jadhav. To me, while victory is still possible you always go for broke,” Stokes wrote in his book On Fire.
England and India met in the match 38 of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.
Chasing 338, India lost KL Rahul early but Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli added an important partnership to bring the team back on track. Sharma scored a ton whereas Kohli scored half century.
Dhoni walked in to bat after Rishabh Pant’s dismissal with India requiring 102 runs to win from 65 deliveries with six wickets in hands. However, India slowly lost their way and ended up a few runs short.
“There is a theory in our camp that Dhoni’s way of playing has always been the same. Even if India can’t win the game, he takes it right to the end to try to make sure that India’s run rate stays relatively healthy,” Stokes wrote.
“His big thing has always been to give himself a chance of winning by being at the crease for the final over, but he generally likes to stick around to get as close to a target as possible even in a losing cause,” he added.
He also lauded England bowlers for their efforts against Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“The way Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played was mystifying. I know that we bowled brilliantly well during this period, but the way they went about their batting just seemed bizarre.
“They allowed their team to get so far behind the game. They showed no desire to put any pressure back onto our team, content instead to just drift along, a tactic that was clearly playing into our hands.”
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