RANCHI: Despite the Ferozeshah Kotla story being repeated here on Wednesday, limited-overs captain
MS Dhoni was at pains to point out that the team was not over-reliant on the chasing skills of
Virat Kohli.
Dhoni said: “Stats don't tell you the full story. We haven't played too many ODIs in the last one and a half years and during that period there was one series against Zimbabwe. When we did play a lot of the times our top-order batted beautifully. So you can't really say that. We do have other batsmen who can also do the job.”
The captain also stood behind the inexperienced lot, saying though the game offered them a golden opportunity to cement their places in the side, it was also a “learning curve” for them.
“Chasing is difficult on tracks like these. They'll learn once they have played a few matches on such pitches and faced those situations. You can also learn from watching but unless you feel that pressure in the middle, you can't understand how you can rotate the strike, which balls to hit etc,” he explained.
Asked if he can consider playing as a specialist batsman and give the big gloves to someone else and groom him, Dhoni remarked: “Who'll field for me? I'm not a good enough fielder without the gloves.
“What we needed were partnerships. If you lose wickets, it becomes difficult.”