MS Dhoni could’ve batted at number five: Sachin Tendulkar

The semi-final loss at the hands of New Zealand is stinging the Indian team and fans. A lot of things are being pointed out from the experts which India did wrong in the chase. But what left many perplexed was MS Dhoni coming in to bat at number seven after the likes of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant. The veteran was sent when India were reeling at 71/5 and got out in the penultimate over. Even Sachin Tendulkar felt that Dhoni batted a bit too low to his liking and could’ve handled things better coming in at five.

Though Dhoni scored only 50 runs off 72 deliveries, he handled the players at the other end well. Hardik Pandya played a wrong shot to break the shackles but then Ravindra Jadeja came and turned the game on its head. During the course of a game-changing partnership, MS Dhoni was constantly in the all-rounder’s ears. But they were left too much to do in the end as India fell short of the target by 19 runs.

Dhoni would’ve surely done something

While speaking to India Today, Sachin Tendulkar stressed the importance of sending MS Dhoni up the order and felt he should’ve batted when India were 5/3. He lauded the way the wicketkeeper-batsman controlled the proceedings when Jadeja was at the other end and was of the opinion that Dhoni would’ve done the same had he batted up the order.

“In a crunch moment like this would you think of promoting Dhoni and control the game. Towards the end, he was talking to Jadeja and controlling the proceedings. Very smartly he was rotating the strike. Instead of Hardik, maybe Dhoni coming in at No. 5 would have made a difference. Dhoni would have for sure done something and made sure on either side of him,” Sachin said.

Cricket is not a game of ifs and buts and the fans and experts now can only ponder on what could’ve done. Nevertheless, the Men in Blue played superbly throughout the tournament only to stumble when it mattered the most and were knocked out of the World Cup.