Dhoni

Melbourne: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni didn’t mince his words in criticising his batsmen as “irresponsible” after the team’s shocking nine-wicket defeat against Australia in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

Dhoni, himself a failure, said the only good thing that his Twenty20 world champion side managed in Friday’s match was winning the toss.

“That’s the only good thing we did. There are 11 players in the side and every guy has a responsibility. But unfortunately some of our guys failed today,” Dhoni said.

“The batsmen did not know their roles, they tried to play too many strokes and before we realised it was too late. We played a batsman short and the guys needed to take up the responsibility,” he added.

The Indian skipper termed the wicket as low and slow which added to his batsmen’s trouble. “It was a low and slow track and before batsmen could come to terms with it, it was too late.”

Dhoni promised that his side would discuss Friday’s failure and try to come to terms with it quickly as the first one-dayer in Brisbane is just 48 hours away.

“The guys can bounce back. It’s a test of character and I think they have it,” he said.

The Indian skipper did not want to make Yuvraj Singh’s absence an excuse for the loss but admitted that the hard-hitting left-hander was crucial for the side. “Yuvraj is important for us in Twenty20,” he said.

On Sachin Tendulkar being left out, Dhoni clarified that it was the master batsman’s own decision to sit out of the game and take rest. “I asked him whether he wanted to play today and get some practice ahead of the Indian Premier League but he said he wanted to rest so I said ‘okay’,” Dhoni said.

The Indian skipper rejected suggestions that the win has given Aussies a psychological edge ahead of the ODI tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka.