MS Dhoni's struggle reminded me of my 'most infamous' 36* knock, says Sunil Gavaskar

Indian Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, in his column for Times of India, has stated that MS Dhoni's sluggish knock of 59-ball-37 in the second ODI between India and England reminded him of his infamous 36-run knock at Lord's in 1975.

"Dhoni's struggle was understandable because when confronted with an impossible situation, the options get limited and the mind becomes negative. Then all the good shots go straight to the fielder to add to the dot balls and the pressure becomes too much. Dhoni's struggle reminded me of my most infamous innings at the same venue," he said.

Gavaskar's knock came in the first ever ODI World Cup match, against England on 7th June 1975. Batting first England had posted a mammoth 334 runs on the board and in reply, India finished with 132 runs for the loss of three wickets by the end of 60th over. The opening batsman, astonishingly, remained unbeaten on 36 and played a massive 174 balls.

Dhoni, on the other hand, walked in at number six after Virat Kohli's dismissal with India needing another 182 runs in 23 overs. The wicketkeeper-batsman, however, could manage to score only 37 runs in 59 deliveries with only two boundaries to his name. When he was dismissed in the 47th over, India were still over 100 runs off the target.

This performance from the experienced customer attracted widespread criticism and Gavaskar joined the list by stating Dhoni's innings reminded him of his knock all those years ago at the very same venue.

Gavaskar went on to talk about how India can seal the three-match series against the English, which he thinks are the best ODI side in the world.

"There is no need to panic though as India can turn it around with some disciplined bowling and building partnerships while batting. What Lord's has shown though is that England are the No. 1 side for a reason and that India will have to lift their game to win the series."