India must be disappointed by the way they played on Thursday. It was a good toss to lose for Pakistan and their openers batted well, pacing their innings. The overcast conditions didn’t allow the ball to swing and so Bhuvneshwar wasn’t as effective as in the earlier games. Coming to Pakistan’s bowling, the quality of their attack was amazing. The way Junaid Khan and Umar Gul bowled was an absolute delight. They are wicket-taking bowlers and the intent is pretty obvious whatever be the format of the game.

However, what surprised me was the lack of intent to attack on part of the Indian batsmen. They should have played more positively; they were very defensive and came with the mindset that since 250 is not a big target, so bat 50 overs and win. India looked like a batting unit short on confidence, and once Sehwag was dismissed, it became tough for the hosts.

Dhoni once again batted lower down. He is the man in form and in such situations, it’s important that the man in form stands up. It baffles me to see someone so gifted under-utilising his talent. It is important for India that Dhoni plays up the order, especially when there are so many youngsters.

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The writer is a former India captain