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Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today defended an under-fire Virat Kohli for his indiscreet shot selection in the lost semi-final clash against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup, here today.
Chasing an imposing 329 for a win, India were bundled out for 233 in 46.5 overs with Dhoni top-scoring with a run-a-ball 65 as the batting was guilty of buckling under pressure, including Kohli (1).
Asked if Kohli's shot selection was reflective of the pressure on him, Dhoni batted strongly for his deputy.
"Pehli baat yeh hai ki til ka taad nahin banate hain (Let's not make a mountain out of a mole hill). Let's accept the fact that he played a shot that didn't pay off. It happens and it happens to a lot of batsmen," Dhoni said in the post-match conference.
"Once the opposition puts over 300 runs on the board and once they have quality bowlers, at some point of time you have to take that risk. If it pays off, if it clicks, all of a sudden everything changes. He played a shot, it didn't pay off and that's it. I would say it happens in cricket," he added.
The skipper did admit that there were a few niggles as far as bowlers were concerned but at the same time said that it wasn't anything alarming.
"About fitness, a few of them (bowlers) had a few niggles, but the whole unit was 100 per cent fit. Fast bowlers had a bit of niggle, but nothing that really stops them from playing, so there were no fitness issues as such."
Asked as to when did he think that the chase was becoming difficult and probably they weren't going to win it, the wicketkeeper-batsman answered, "I think after the fall of third wicket, I somehow sensed that it would be difficult from here on."
With the fast bowlers having done well throughout, Dhoni wasn't harsh on them for their flop show on the day, stating that they could have done "slightly better".
"When we lost the toss, I was a bit worried as I thought maybe the spinners wouldn't get as much purchase. But I feel (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin, both bowled well. There was possibility of reverse swing going, so I felt our fast bowlers could have slightly better as there wouldn't be much of a reverse swing. But once we came back into the game and restricted them to 328, I felt it was a good score.
"Yes, there was pressure, but at the same time it needed some good batting and good partnership, so it was a gettable score, but it needed some really hard work to get the runs on the board," the skipper said.
