MS Dhoni says he had promoted himself up the order because of Yuvraj Singh's lack of practice
One of the biggest reasons why the 1st T20I at Adelaide between Australia and India was looked forward to was the comeback of Yuvraj Singh. The dashing southpaw, who has earned his way into the national team with a superlative domestic performance, was not called upon to bat on Tuesday though. MS Dhoni explained the logic behind pushing Yuvraj to No.6 after the match.
With Suresh Raina going out in the final stages of India’s innings, Dhoni came out to bat himself, promoting himself above Yuvraj, who had been supposed to come in at No. 5. It was a move which paid off, as Dhoni’s 3-ball cameo, which consisted of a six and a four, was a attacking batting display of the highest order.
Yuvraj was called upon to bowl one over, in which he let Shane Watson hit him for a six, but gave a commendable performance otherwise. The catch he plucked out of the air to dismiss Chris Lynn was one of the biggest game-changing moments.
On why Dhoni pushed himself above Yuvraj, the captain said, “Raina batted well. He and Yuvi have had just one net session, which is why I promoted myself ahead of Yuvraj."
With only one over left in the innings, Dhoni did not want to push Yuvraj to find his feet at the international level and fire India to a big score, both at the same time. Being in more practice himself, Dhoni decided to come out all guns blazing himself, and the move paid off. Yuvraj has also recently arrived in Australia, whereas Dhoni has been part of the campaign for the whole of the ODI series.
Dhoni places faith in youngsters
The skipper also praised the youngsters in his side after the 37-run win on Tuesday. He said that Hardik Pandya can be the answer to India’s problems, by lending the much-needed balance in the team.
"We bowled superbly. I felt once he went through that first over he would bowl much better. He was executing the yorkers well, he was bowling the wide ball well. Overall it was good effort and I think they can give us the stability we desperately need," Dhoni said.
Pandya recovered from a horrible first over in international cricket to finish with two wickets from the match, and it is likely he will get a chance to prove himself in the next T20 as well. Jasprit Bumrah, who impressed one and all with his difficult deliveries, had already earned Dhoni’s favour as a result of the 5th ODI.
India lead the 3-match T20I series 1-0. The two teams will now travel to Melbourne for the second game on Friday.