Did not bat due to niggle in right hand - MS Dhoni after warm-up loss against Sri Lanka

FILE PHOTO: MS Dhoni did not bat in the warm-up match against Sri Lanka due to a niggle in his right hand

India lost their first warm-up match in the World T20 in Bangladesh against Sri Lanka today by 5 runs. Chasing 154, India were all out for 148 in 20 overs.

Lasith Malinga bowled a brilliant last over, taking 3 wickets and giving away just 6 runs in the process. Despite wickets falling in a heap, India’s captain MS Dhoni, who was returning to the side after he missed Asia Cup due to side strain, did not come out to the crease, sending the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Amit Mishra to bat instead.

At the post-match presentation, Dhoni revealed the reason behind his decision to not bat today. “I had a small niggle in my right hand a couple of days back, so we had the luxury of giving it rest for a few more days. We still have one more practice game before the proper matches start, so there’s no point risking it. Also, it gave me an opportunity to give other batsmen a fair chance,” he said.

Dhoni praised the contributions of Suresh Raina (41 off 31) and Yuvraj Singh (33 off 28), who were making a comeback after having been dropped from the side previously. “It was good the way Raina and Yuvi batted. Others had spent some time here during Asia Cup, but these were the two individuals who needed to bat, especially in conditions which are slightly difficult. Overall, it was good to see the way they batted in this game,” Dhoni said.

The spin troika of Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja proved to be effective today, taking 5 wickets between them, and though Mishra was expensive, giving away 38 runs in his 4 overs, he bowled well for the most part.

“Well, we may have to (use 3 spinners). Our fast bowlers aren’t bowling really well and we may have to include the 3rd spinner. But we also have to see how that goes when we’re bowling 2nd since there’s dew,” said Dhoni on India’s bowling combination in upcoming matches.

Asia Cup villain Varun Aaron too redeemed himself somewhat today, when he bowled with good pace and hurried onto the batsmen in his spell of 3-0-18-1.

“The good thing today was that Varun (Aaron) bowled well. (Mohammed) Shami is someone who has done the job of bowling well in the last few overs. So overall, it’s looking good, but still we have to see what’s really good for us; whether it’s going with 3 spinners and 2 fast bowlers or 3 fast bowlers and 2 spinners,” Dhoni concluded.