ICC World Cup 2019: Sourav Ganguly backs MS Dhoni after latter’s poor outing versus Afghanistan

Team India had to strain every sinew in their match versus Afghanistan at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. After the Men in Blue elected to bat first, the Afghan spinners- Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman- attacked the Indian batsman, who had very little answers. Even MS Dhoni, who’s known to be an efficient player of spin, couldn’t get their measure.

The 37-year-old veteran had an indifferent outing as he could only manage 28 off 52 with three fours. He came to bat at number five after the dismissal of Virat Kohli, who was India’s top run-scorer in that game with 67. Dhoni was also involved in a 57-run stand with Kedar Jadhav that was carved in 14 overs. Dhoni was eventually nipped out by Rashid Khan, stumped by Ikram Ali Khil.

He got out at a stage when India needed some lusty blows from him with only 5.3 overs left. India ended with 224 in 50 overs. Luckily, Kohli’s men saved themselves from an embarrassing loss as the Afghans were bowled out for 213. Thereafter, many supporters and former cricketers, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar became critical of Dhoni for not showing much of an intent.

“I felt slightly disappointed, it could have been much better. I was also not happy with the partnership between Kedar and Dhoni, it was very slow. We batted 34 overs of spin bowling and scored 119 runs. This was one area where we didn’t look comfortable at all. There was no positive intent,” Tendulkar mentioned earlier.

Ganguly speaks in favour of Dhoni

However, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly feels that Dhoni is too good a batsman to be bogged down and will make a strong comeback. “At the end of the day, MSD is a very good batsman and he will definitely prove that in this year’s World Cup 2019 as well despite his sticky form against Afghanistan. It’s just one match,” Ganguly was quoted as saying in DNA.

India is currently placed third in the points table with four victories from five games, their other match versus New Zealand being called off. Kohli and Co are next scheduled to face the Windies on June 27 in Manchester and Dhoni needs to up his game with the tournament moving into its business end.