World Cup 2019: Sachin Tendulkar admits that he was not happy with the partnership between Dhoni and Kedar against Afghanistan
What's the story?
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has admitted that he was disappointed with the partnership between Kedar Jadhav and Ms Dhoni in India's clash against Afghanistan at Southampton.
In case you didn't know..
Afghanistan's bowlers did a splendid job as India registered a paltry score of 224 in the first innings of the match. Choosing to bat first on a tricky pitch, India were dealt a huge blow in the fifth over when they lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli put them back on track with a steady partnership but Indian middle order struggled to score quickly when needed.
Later on, Dhoni and Jadhav enjoyed a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket but they were extremely slow in their proceedings. Both batsmen played 84 balls between them which hindered the chances of posting a huge total against Afghanistan. Owing to the brilliant performances from Indian bowlers, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, India managed to win the low-scoring tie by just 11 runs.
With the win, India maintain their unbeaten record in the World Cup campaign so far. The Men in Blue are third on the table with four wins from their five matches whereas Afghanistan stay at the bottom, losing all six of their matches so far in the tournament.
The heart of the matter
Sachin Tendulkar was disappointed by the partnership which slowed down the Indian innings.
Speaking in an interview with India Today, Sachin 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."
"There were more than 2-3 dot balls. After Virat got out in the 38th over and till the 45th over we hadn't scored many runs. There were not enough outings for the middle order batsmen till now and that put pressure on them. But the intent could have been much better by the middle order batsmen."
What's next?
India will face West Indies in their next fixture before taking on hosts England next Sunday.