Kohli’s sacrifice in team’s interests Dhoni lauds decision to bat at No4

Sudhir Gupta 05:32 13/10/2014
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  • Team player: Dhoni believes the strategic ploy to play Kohli (r) at No4 worked well for both the team and the batsman.

    India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes Virat Kohli served the team’s cause by agreeing to step down to No4 from his regular No3 batting position during the second one-dayer against West Indies in Delhi on Sunday.

    The change paid rich dividends for both Kohli, who ended a poor run of form by scoring a patient 62 off 78 balls, and the team as India won by 41 runs to level the now four-match series 1-1.

    Ambati Rayudu, the new No3 scored 32 off 54 balls but it was Suresh Raina’s superb 62 off 60 balls that helped Kohli to pace his innings. Raina and Kohli were involved in a 105-run stand as India posted a respectable 263-7 in 50 overs before bowling out the West Indies for 215 runs.

    “Kohli is very experienced and he knows what the team wants,” Dhoni said. “We were able to convince him to bat down the order and he under­stood that it’s good for the team and himself.

    “He is a kind of player who scores at a brisk pace. If someone is doing well at No3 and Virat is comfortable at No4 then why not. Let’s go with it.

    “I believe it’s good for the team to have your most experienced players bat at No.5, 6 and 7. And yes it helps Virat to change his slot and have the cushion of runs behind him.

    “It was a win-win situation as Rayudu also got more balls to settle down. It also disrupts the strategy of the opposition team. So everything fell into place,” Dhoni added.

    While the Feroze Shah Kotla turned out to be a happy hunting ground for the Indians, who have won all their last six games there, the West Indies were disappointed at letting go an opportunity to go 2-0 up in the series.

    Opener Dwayne Smith (97 off 97 balls) had put the side on road to vic­tory as they were 136-1 at one stage but lost nine wickets for 79 runs.

    Smith was doubly upset that he missed out on his first ODI ton and could not finish the game for his team.

    “I’m disappointed,” he said. “I worked really hard during the Car­ibbean Premier League and since I came here to India, I really wanted to make my mark in this series.

    “I was looking to bat all the way through and take the team to vic­tory. Someone needed to bat to the end and see the team home but unfortunately I wasn’t able to com­plete the job. We came close to vic­tory, would have made it 2-0, so as a team we are disappointed. We have to give India credit. They bowled well and stuck to their plans.

    “We know where we went wrong. We know we didn’t bat as well as we should have. But it’s 1-1 now and we are still well and truly in this series. We will look to come back and claim the series. We have what it takes to win.”

    West Indies had further dis­appointment in store as captain Dwayne Bravo was docked 40 per cent of his match fee for a slow over-rate during the match. 

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