Six Mistakes MS Dhoni

Six blunders that Captain MS Dhoni made in the series

India has had a torrid time against the Australians in the ODI series. Except for Nagpur and Delhi, where the team registered convincing victories, the men in blue have been literally feeling the blues. A look at the series results clearly shows that the bowlers and the batters have refused to perform in sync.

Blunder Number One: Misjudging the dew factor
After giving nightmares to Ricky Ponting, the dew factor returned to haunt MS Dhoni in Mohali. The Indian captain very categorically said at the toss that the dew factor was the reason why he decided to bowl first in the game. In sound batting conditions India fielded first, although in the second innings the Aussies did not look too much perturbed by the dew around.

Blunder Number Two: Kohli at three
Virat Kohli was unable to fill in for an injured Gautam Gambhir at the crucial no. 3 spot. Suresh Raina, who was in good touch after his 62-run knock in the Nagpur ODI, seemed a much better bet coming first down. However, captain Dhoni firmly defended his decision to promote Kohli in the batting order in the Mohali ODI.

Blunder Number Three: Late powerplay
Yet another blunder committed by MS Dhoni in Mohali. The final powerplay was taken in the 40th over and only after batting specialists Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja were dismissed. India could have made use of the powerplay much earlier and eased off some pressure.

Blunder Number Four:The Guwahati pitch was not a win-toss-bat-first pitch, but captain Dhoni failed to read the match conditions. The early morning start and the blustery conditions swung the match in favour of the Australians, who made optimal use of the swinging ball.

Blunder Number Five: Bringing back Munaf
A rusty Munaf Patel was never a good bet for India in the Hyderabad ODI. The bowler got spanked in the fifth one-dayer and gave away 73 runs in the game. Dhoni's idea of playing him in the match was a complete disaster.

Blunder Number Six: Defensive captaincy
MS Dhoni has not been at his aggressive best in the series. More often than not, Dhoni has failed to take up the attacking option and has seemed more comfortable letting things 'happen' on the field. The captain looked flummoxed when Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson went after the Indian bowlers in the Hyderabad ODI. Instead of unsettling the openers, Dhoni just waited for them to make a mistake, rather than forcing one.