Their slow batting and alleged lack of intent angered many fans and even some experts and former cricketers.
MS Dhoni failed to do justice to his reputation as a 'finisher' in Sunday's loss to England. India needed 71 runs from the final five overs to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament with former captain Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav in the middle. The duo, however, looked content knocking the ball around rather than going for big hits and managed only 39 in the last five overs.
Their slow batting and alleged lack of intent angered many fans and even some experts and former cricketers. However, the Indian cricket team defended the display in the final stages of the World Cup group match at Edgbaston.
Team India have blamed the slow nature of the pitch and England's use of the conditions while bowling for their effort. Dhoni and Jadhav added 39 runs off the final 31 balls of the Indian innings. The partnership included 20 singles.
DNA's full coverage:
ENG vs IND World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli lists reasons for India's loss against England
ENG vs IND World Cup 2019: Jonny Bairstow hails 'close to complete performance' after win over India
Why did MS Dhoni-Kedar Jadhav play like that? Rohit Sharma explains reason behind slow batting
1. Rohit Sharma blames the pitch
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Rohit Sharma, who topscored for India with 102, blamed the pitch for Dhoni-Jadhav crawl.
"When Mahi and Kedar were batting, they were trying to hit (boundaries) but were not able to because of the slowness of the pitch," he said. "Towards the end it got pretty slow. We got to give credit to the English team, they used the conditions very well. "They mixed up their variations quite nicely and kept us guessing all through the game."
2. Virat Kohli defends MS Dhoni
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India captain Virat Kohli also defended MS Dhoni on Sunday after the team's 31-run loss to the hosts.
"I think MS was trying really hard to get the boundary," Kohli, whose fifth half-century in a row went in vain, said at the presentation ceremony. "They were just bowling good areas. We'll have to sit down and assess and improve in the next game."
3. Many baffled by MS Dhoni-Kedar Jadhav
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MS Dhoni who has come under scrutiny for his slow tempo in India's matches once again became the talk of the town as the wicket-keeper batsman was seen playing in his own pace.
The batsman managed to score 42 runs from 31 balls, but he was clearly seen not looking for boundaries in the final overs. This approach by the former captain is being widely scrutinised on Twitter.
"If there was any team that had the ability to stop India's winning run, it was England. Dhoni's approach in the last few overs, however, was baffling," former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted.
Even the commentators Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain were baffled by the approach.
Listen To The Commentary Thats DADA Ganguly ... I am Ashamed I Was A Dhoni Fan..#indiavsEngland #ENGvIND #TeamIndia #Dhoni pic.twitter.com/FNKsa6PloV
— TalHA-HAfeez (@TALHAFEEZ) June 30, 2019
