Despite getting off to a rollicking start in the first innings against Bangladesh, India could not finish strongly and regular strikes by Bangladesh towards the back end of the innings pulled back things considerably as India were restricted to 314 in their allotted 50 overs.
MS Dhoni, who had copped a lot of criticism for his lack of intent against England, was in the midst of the slowdown as he struggled to break free in the final overs. He did accelerate towards the end, but then a lot more was desired from the seasoned campaigner. He was criticised on social media, but Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar has supported his approach and said that Dhoni did exactly what the team needed at that particular moment.
"I felt it was an important innings and he (MS Dhoni) did exactly what was right for the team. If he stays till the 50th over, he can help other guys around him. He is expected to do that and he did that," Sachin told India Today.
'It is more about the team'
"For him, it is more about the team. Whatever is the need of the hour, one needs to do that and on Tuesday, he did that perfectly," he further added.
It needs to be mentioned here that Sachin had criticised Dhoni for his sluggish innings against Afghanistan and said that being a senior player in the side, it was his responsibility to hit the straps early and go after the spinners. Following this, Dhoni was also criticised for his bizarre tactics and lack of intent during a tricky chase.
"I felt slightly disappointed, it could have been much better. I was also not happy with the partnership between Kedar and Dhoni, it was very slow. We batted 34 overs of spin bowling and scored 119 runs. This was one area where we didn't look comfortable at all. There was no positive intent," Sachin said after the match against Afghanistan.
India won their match against Bangladesh comprehensively in the end by 28 runs to seal their semi-final berth, but there are issues with the middle order as well as few concerns with the death bowling as Mohammed Shami has not been able to bowl as well in the latter stages of the innings.
However, captain Kohli was pleased with the performance of his side and said that they had to work hard to earn the qualification tag and that he was happy with his players for performing their respective roles perfectly.
