The bowlers need the cushion of extra runs, says Dhoni

M.S. Dhoni is criticised for saying the same thing every press conference — and it only gets tougher after six successive overseas defeats — but he improvised a metaphor on Friday evening.

Asked how India could stop the free-fall, Dhoni said, “You need a parachute.”

He elaborated: “If you see the last two series, our performance in England and now here, we didn't put enough runs on the board. It's important to take 20 wickets but you also need the cushion of extra runs. We haven't put enough runs. Even in England, not often we scored 300 runs. It doesn't allow bowlers to experiment a bit when the rival batsmen are set. They never got the cushion of those runs.”

Confused

The Indian captain admitted that he was “confused” during Australia's run marathon. “We not only were not able to take wickets but also couldn't stop them from scoring briskly,” he said. “After scoring 200 runs, when you see batsmen scoring freely, you get confused whether to get them out or to stop them from scoring briskly.” continuereading