« Back to article

Print this article

World T20: India qualify for semis but Dhoni puts celebrations on hold

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said it was important for him to bat up the order as he was not getting any opportunity to spend time in the middle since the top-order was performing consistently well for them.

India defeated both Pakistan and West Indies by seven wickets in their first two matches of the ongoing World Twenty20 with Dhoni not getting to bat.

The captain, who missed the Asia Cup in Bangladesh held before this biennial event, batted ahead of Yuvraj Singh at number four in the modest run-chase against Bangladesh.

- Please click NEXT to proceed

Wanted to spend time in the middle: Dhoni

"We have good players and the next few games are going to be extremely tough. I hadn't batted in a while and asked Yuvi if he was OK. Now, everyone in the top five has got an opportunity to bat.”

Dhoni sealed India's win with a six off Ziaur Rehman. India thrashed the hosts by eight wickets to become the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the T20World Cup.

"No celebrations at the moment. We were slightly unlucky in Sri Lanka (in 2012), we lost only one game and didn't qualify for the next round," said Dhoni.

When asked about not being tested in the tournament so far, Dhoni replied, "We can't ask Virat Kohli to hit wicket and come back (to make games interesting). We can't do much about that (lack of challenge)."

- Please click NEXT to proceed

'Mishra has won two Man of the Match awards, so I guess it was my turn'

Off-spinner R Ashwin, was adjudged man-of-the-match, picked two wickets at the top to peg Bangladesh back after India had put them in. He gave away just 15 run in his four overs.

"Spinners have enjoyed good success; Mishy (Amit Mishra) has won two Man of the Match awards, so I guess it was my turn today," he said.

"We have played some excellent cricket, we don't need to be too worried (about not being tested enough)," he added.

- Please click NEXT to proceed

'Hopefully we can take some positives'

Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim said their batsmen failed to compile big scores and threw away their wickets.

Rahim said they were looking for a total of around 150 to challenge India.

"We thought about 150-plus as a good total, but unfortunately ended up below that. We have two more games to go, so hopefully we can take some positives."