Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that a big defeat against Australia had a telling impact in his team not qualifying for the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup on the basis of run-rate, says a report in The DNA.
"It was a satisfactory performance. If we talk about the tournament, the match that we los t impacted us badly. The margin of defeat was a big one. Today after the first match, the equation was such that we wanted to field first and then chase down whatever target within 15-16 overs," said Dhoni.
Dhoni also said that batting first jolted India’s plan, “It becomes very difficult to make a strategy when you bat first. In any case defending 120 was a tough ask.” Dhoni said.
Indian bowling has been a weak link in the team from quite a long time, on that Dhoni said, “If one looks at the 2007 edition, we were playing in Durban which helped our seamers. Whatever total we put on, they were able to defend that. But when there is nothing in the wicket, they find it very difficult. That is the reason why I prefer a turning track or seaming track rather than flat tracks.”
Meanwhile, The Times of India reports that Pakistan and Australia advanced to the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup. Pakistan defeated Australia comprehensively by 32 runs to improve their net run-rate drastically which in the end game them the edge over the Indians.