Former India captain MS Dhoni knows all about overseas Test defeats. After all, it was his team that had the dubious 0-8 record over two series in England and Australia in 2011-12.
Now since Virat Kohli & Co. lost the 3 match Test series against the Proteas in South Africa, Dhoni was asked to comment on the defeats. Both the loss in Capetown and Centurion were huge and unexpected which has left the Indian cricket fans disappointed.
Dhoni said that it is important to look at the “positives” from the team’s performance. The team had taken 20 opposition wickets in both Tests, giving themselves a chance of a win.
“We have to look at the positives. To win a Test, we need 20 wickets. If you can’t take 20 wickets, you can never win a Test, irrespective of whether you are playing at home or away. We have taken 20 wickets (in both Tests in SA),” Dhoni, who is back as the Chennai Super Kings skipper, said at a promotional event on Friday.
When MSD was the captain, the bowlers often failed to take 20 wickets despite being in good positions, a case in point being the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington in 2014.
“If you can’t take 20 wickets, what’s the next thing? You try to force a draw. How can you draw a Test? It is by conceding less and by scoring more runs. But the fact that we are taking 20 wickets means we are always in a position to win a Test,” said the 36-year-old.
The Ranchi lad feels that now it’s up to the batsmen to back the bowlers up and things will fall into place. “Once you start scoring runs, you are there,” he added.
He also cited examples from his own career to add that the “ups and downs” on foreign soil are part of a cricketer’s learning curve.
“When I was part of the Indian (Test) team I have seen the ups and downs. When we didn’t perform well on tours, you have to know the reasons why things are not going well. If you know that, you can actually address the problem. But at the same time, you have to accept the reasons as well,” Dhoni concluded.
