It was in 2002 that India touched a real low in New Zealand, says a report in Hindustan Times, adding that their batsmen floundered on pitches that afforded appreciable seam movement. “The tracks in Napier and Hamilton were good pitches. And Mahendra Singh Dhoni had led India to Test and ODI series victories here in 2009. But now he will have to take the call on shuffling pack if the visitors are to bounce back from 0-2 down in the five-match series,” says the report, adding that the one man who might make a difference is Stuart Binny.
“His medium-pace may be useful at Eden Park as the drop-in pitch is expected to offer good pace. And his hard-hitting will offer an insurance with a long tail to contend with now. With R Ashwin struggling, it is time to either call up leggie Amit Mishra, dropping the off-spinner or Jadeja,” says the HT report.
The only time India edged ahead in this series was when Mohd Shami struck twice early on in Napier. But his efforts and that of Bhuvneshwar Kumar have gone unrewarded due to the flop-show by Ishant and Ashwin. Dhoni has blamed the openers, and the lack of bowling discipline, but is not willing to criticise the off-spinner. "There is still scope for improvement, we cannot give easy boundaries, off something like a wide ball or something on the pads. Especially the first ball of the over or the sixth ball, if you don’t concede boundaries in those two, it helps. Either, we are not starting well or we are not finishing that particular over well," Dhoni said in Hamilton.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has described Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as "all-in-one" but appeared in favour of separate captains for the three versions of the game, says a report in The Times Of India. "Dhoni (is) sarva byapi (omnipresent)... He is all-in-one," Sidhu told reporters.
Comparing Twenty20, 50-over game and Tests with pop, rock and classical music, Sidhu said that right person should be given the right charge. wenty20 is different from 50-over format... And the 50 overs game is different from Test cricket," he added.
