Dhoni to Oz: Don't provoke us

MS Dhoni blames Aussies for the on-field hostilities between the two sides, saying his team will match their Aus' aggression.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday made it clear his team will not back down when it comes to matching the Australian aggression in the tri-series finals and blamed the world champions for the on-field hostilities between the two sides.

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He criticised the Aussies for their "provocative behaviour" during Sunday's Sydney ODI, which prompted the Indians to lodge a formal complaint with the match referee.

"We believe it was the Australians who have been provoking us. It's been going on for a while. In due course I am sure (my team's) youngsters will learn from it," he said.

"Ishant only reacted to what Symonds said to him," he added when asked about the young pacer showing the "send-off finger" to Andrew Symonds in that game, for which Ishant was docked 15 per cent of his match fee.

"It's never friendly in international cricket and aggression is okay if you don't cross the line," Dhoni said.

"Ishant will learn this art in due course. I call it an art because it happens in international cricket all the time," he added.

In the Sydney match, Dhoni had to part with his gloves after the match referee was concerned about their legality.

However, Dhoni chose to sidestep the issue.

"I thought the gloves were quite okay but I don't want to start a controversy. Out of my 100 catches, only a few have been held with those gloves," he said.