In their maiden defeat in the ICC World Cup 2019, India lost to England by 31 runs on Sunday. Despite Rohit Sharma scoring a ton, the Virat Kohli-led team fell short of the 338-run target.
But what has drawn massive criticism is the batting performance of India's MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav who failed to find a boundary to meet the required run-rate. Former Indian and England skippers Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain did not mince words when criticising the batting unit's performance.
Ganguly and Hussain, who teamed up in the commentary box during the last innings, were baffled by Dhoni and Jadhav settling for singles, and not attempting for the big shots when the team still had five wickets in hand. "I don't have an explanation for that. You asked me the question but I can't explain these singles. It's also the length and the bounce that has deceived the Indian batsmen. You can't be chasing 338 and still have 5 wickets in the end,” said Ganguly.
"I am completely baffled. What’s going on! This is not what India needed. They need runs. What are they doing? Some Indian fans are leaving now. Surely they must want to see Dhoni go for his shots, even if he slogs it off in the air. It's a World Cup game, top 2 sides, give it a go,” Hussain said.
Speaking to Star Sports after the match, Ganguly expressed his disappointment and hoped the team would reflect on its performance. "The first 10 overs and the last 6 overs left a lot to be desired. Hopefully, they will go back and reflect because they have been in excellent form this WC. The intent was not good enough. I would have been happier if India were 300 all-out. This situation can happen again and they will have to find different ways to succeed in the first and last 10 overs," he said.
Social media was also abuzz with many criticising Dhoni and Jadhav for the poor show and lack of intent.