Bowlers need to improve their performance: Dhoni

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: January 8, 2010

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Mirpur: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again expressed concern over India’s bowling attack, saying that the lacklustre display by the bowlers in the ongoing tri-series in Bangladesh is a matter of concern and the bowling department really needs to pull up its socks if India wants to be the number one side in ODI cricket.

Dhoni praised the batters of his team for their good showing as they chased down a challenging total of 297 while asking the bowlers to start performing.

“If we want to be at the number one spot, if we want to be consistent then we need to improve our performance in all departments, especially bowling. I want the bowlers to deliver when needed,” Dhoni said after India’s six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the third match of the series on Thursday.

The Indian bowlers’ were smashed all around the park as they gave away 88 runs in the last 10 overs to see Bangladesh pile up a huge 296 for six, their highest total against any test playing nation, in their allotted 50 overs. “We need to improve our performance by 50 per cent. I know that would be tough for the boys but that’s what international cricket is all about,” Dhoni said.

The Indian skipper said although they lost three crucial wickets in Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh early, they were always in control of the game. “I was never really worried as we had the second powerplay in hand. We were never really short of runs. We were always in reach of the target. So Virat and I decided to build up a partnership to lay the foundation and the plan worked,” Dhoni said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan blamed his bowlers for the loss especially after posting 296 on the board. “We knew there was going to be dew but we knew it was a good batting track so we had to bat first. Consistently we have been getting runs and it’s a plus point for us. Hopefully, we will try to bowl a bit better in the coming matches,” Shakib said.

Shakib also praised Dhoni and young Virat Kohli for setting the platform for India’s victory with a 152-run fourth wicket stand. “When we got the early wickets, we thought we got a chance but they (Dhoni and Kohli) got a very good partnership in the middle overs and played sensibly. All credit goes to India,” Shakib said.

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