Captain Collapse: South Africa crushed India by 214 runs in final ODI

Team India Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took off on an explanation streak after India’s nightmarish 214-run loss against South Africa in the fifth and final ODI on Sunday. At the post-match press conference in Mumbai, Dhoni was asked “What went wrong” and he replied, “Yeh sawal aaj mat poocho match me galti kahan hui. Sade charso run ke aaspaas bane hai aur aap poochte hain galti kahan hui (Don’t ask me today what went wrong. Close to 450 runs had been scored by South Africa, and you are asking this).”

Laughter rang out in the room. Experts meanwhile are pointing fingers squarely at the man who in the past has helped deliver stunning victories. Also, our bowlers once again showed they are easy meat for any batting side unless pitches provide assistance by way of turn or bounce. Dhoni, too, during the press meet insisted the pitch had a role in India’s thrashing. “You have to play to your strength, but at times they (pitches) are over-rolled and you get very flat wickets. It keeps happening.”

But with Ravichandran Ashwin out due to injury, others have struggled to contain the flow of runs. Seamer Mohammad Shami, who impressed during the World Cup, remains benched following injury. Little wonder that Dhoni has pleaded for turning wickets during the Test series, even though he himself has retired from the longer format.