Manchester, Policenama online: Leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah was all praise for M.S. Dhoni, saying it was because of the “top-rated” inning from the 37-year-old that helped India post a competitive total against the West Indies which they defended quite easily on a tricky batting wicket at the Old Trafford.
“Such type of innings is highly underrated. Sometimes, it appears as if he (Dhoni) is playing slowly and takes a lot of time. But while batting on such wickets, it is important to take your time.
“We all saw how he took the game deep and in the end, it was because of him that we could reach 268 which was a very good total on this wicket,” said Bumrah while speaking to Yuzvendra Chahal for BCCI TV after India registered a thumping 125-run victory over West Indies on Thursday.
Against West Indies, Dhoni once again started off slowly as he took his time to get used to the pitch and scored his first 20 runs off 40 deliveries. However, he compensated for it in the later stages of the game as he ended up scoring 56 not out of 61 balls, of which 16 he collected in the last over of the innings bowled by Oshane Thomas.
During the course of his innings, he shared a 70-run partnership with Hardik Pandya and helped India reach 268/7 which according to Bumrah was a par score in Manchester.
“This is where his experience comes in handy for the team as he absorbs all the pressure, takes the game deep and backs his style of play. We youngsters learn a lot from him. So, it was a top-rated inning because of which we could reach around 270,” he added.
Earlier, skipper Virat Kohli also came in defence of Dhoni, saying the veteran batsman is one of the legends of the game.