When it comes to having a good finisher in the team, the first name that comes to mind is MS Dhoni. At times the 37-year-old has shown his aggressive batting skills at the death over where he has many times managed to take team home to the victory single-handedly. But his recent performance in the death has raised many eyebrows to the critics as some say he must hang his boots. Amid all criticism the legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar has come out to support the veteran wicket keeper batsman.
Sachin comes out to back Dhoni
The Ranchi born was criticized for his batting credibility against Afghanistan, England and against Bangladesh, as he wasn’t able to fire up with the bat when the team needed it most. In fact, after the game against Afghanistan, Sachin had said he was downhearted with MS Dhoni’s strike rate. However, on Tuesday after India defeated Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals, Tendulkar came out to support Dhoni and said he always thought of the team first.
“I felt it was an important inning and Dhoni did exactly what was right for the team. If he stays till the 50th over, he can help other guys around him. He is expected to do that and he did that. For him, it is more about the team. Whatever is the need of the hour, one needs to do that and on Tuesday, he did that perfectly,” Tendulkar said.
Sachin had earlier showed disappointed against the Indian wicketkeeper for his slower strike rate against Afganistan. He said, “I felt slightly disappointed, it could have been much better. I was also not happy with the partnership between Kedar and Dhoni, it was very slow. We batted 34 overs of spin bowling and scored 119 runs. This was one area where we didn’t look comfortable at all. There was no positive intent.” Source
Sachin praises the Hit Man
Sachin Tendulkar also praised the Indian opener Rohit Sharma for his outstanding performance. He said, “The way Rohit Sharma has batted in this tournament… Everyone needs luck from time to time. He understands his batting, when to pace himself and when to rotate the strike. He is a smarter player than he was a couple of years ago. He is more matured and understands his game much better now.”
“Catches win you matches – you cannot drop someone like Rohit Sharma. He has consistently proven that if he is not feeling too great at the start of his innings, that’s when you can get him out,” Tendulkar concluded. Source
