Never understood why he was targeted in the past says Rohit Sharma in support of Dhoni

The India v Sri Lanka ODI series ahead of the all-important South Africa tour started on a horrible note for India as they stumbled a 7-wicket defeat in the first ODI at Dharmashala. Indians were very close to getting bowled out to their lowest total in their history when the scorecard read 29/7. Thankfully for them though, it was Indian wicketkeeper MS Dhoni who stood strong at one end and prevented humiliation.

In the seaming conditions, Sri Lankans bowlers after winnings the toss used it to their advantage and kept the batsmen in check going past the outside edge almost regularly. Pacer Suranga Lakmal registered his best ODI bowling performance in the game with figures of 4/13 in his 10 overs.

Dhoni stitched crucial partnerships with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal that took India’s score to over 100. While protecting the number 11, he got out trying to put one over the boundary. He hit 10 fours and 2 sixes in his innings of 65 of 87 balls.

Sri Lanka chased down the target in the 21st over with former skipper Upul Tharanga scoring 49 runs which included 10 fours. Jasprit Bumrah was the culprit of getting a wicket off no ball one more time. He had overstepped in the Champions Trophy final against Pakistan at the Lord’s as well.

Dhoni is a pillar

As Virat Kohli is out of action, it was his deputy Rohit Sharma captaining the side for the first time in international cricket. Afte the game, game during his media interaction Rohit blasted at Dhoni critics.

“First of all, I never understood talks, before the game, of whether he was in our plans or not. Once he gets runs, suddenly the whole conversation changes,” said stand-in captain Sharma.

He said that MS Dhoni has been a pillar of the side and he will continue to be the same. During the post-match presentation as well, Rohit had said, “He has done it for so many years and he knows exactly how to bat in these situations. Someone else with him could have made the difference but he was battling alone.”

According to Sharma this game was an eye-opener for the whole team and hoped that the side will learn from it.