MS Dhoni hit an unbeaten half-century to help India beat Australia in the first ODI in Hyderabad (AP Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Usman Khawaja credited MS Dhoni's experience for his success in run chases
- Dhoni's unbeaten 141-run stand with Kedar Jadhav helped India win the 1st ODI vs Australia in Hyderabad
- India take on Australia in the 2nd ODI in Nagpur on March 5
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has heaped praise on MS Dhoni for the way the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman goes about his job in tense run chases. Lauding his ability to stay calm under pressure, Khawaja said Dhoni is able to successfully execute run chases "majority of times".
Khawaja's comments come after MS Dhoni along with his middle-order counterpart, Kedar Jadhav pulled India out of trouble and helped them win the first ODI against Australia by six wickets in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Dhoni and Jadhav joined hands when India were in a spot of bother, reeling at 99 for 4 in a tricky chase of 237 runs on a sluggish wicket at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. India had lost Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu in quick succession and it seemed the momentum had swung back in Australia's favour.
However, Dhoni was at it again as he remained calm under pressure and played the anchor's role to perfection in his unbeaten 141-run stand with Jadhav. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 59 -- his fourth straight half-century against Australia in ODIs while Jadhav smashed an 87-ball 81 as India crossed the finish line with 10 balls to spare.
"He [Dhoni] just executes well. He has the last three games, just stayed calm and backed himself to take it deep. Then when he needs to he hits a boundary. You can tell he sort of changes gears, he'll hit single, single, two then try to hit a boundary," Khawaja was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
"It doesn't always come off but the majority of times it does. He does that really well, that's experience."
Dhoni, who averages more than 100 in successful run chases for India in ODIs, has begun the World Cup year on a high. The veteran batsman had hit three back-to-back ODI half-centuries, including an unbeaten 87 in Melbourne, in India's historic 2-1 win over the Australians in Australia.
Speaking after India's win in Hyderabad, Kedar Jadhav had said batting with MS Dhoni gives him a lot of confidence.
"I would have tried to play more shots early had Dhoni bhai not been there. That's what he does, he tells you exactly. He reads your mind," Jadhav said.
"Plenty of times when you feel this ball can be hit for boundaries, he'll tell you 'I can see that but the team needs more solidity and you have to bat till the end'. Every time you think of the team, most of the times, you'll cross the line and end up on the winning side," he added.
Earlier this year in Australia, Jadhav and Dhoni had won India the third ODI in Melbourne by stitching a 121-run stand. Jadhav said that run chase was on his mind and he knew he just had to listen to Dhoni in order to take the match.
"Recently in Australia, we pulled off a similar kind of a chase. I had that in the back of my mind. When you have Mahi bhai at the other end, you just have to listen to him. I just did that again today. I tried to learn a lot from him (MS)."
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