India vs Australia: MS Dhoni form in Bengaluru a cause of concern for Australia in 2nd T20I

On a pitch which generally assists stroke making, Dhoni has scored 536 runs in 17 T20s which is the second most runs scored by him at a venue in his career.

India were in a precarious situation in Visakhapatnam which forced MS Dhoni to drop anchor and play a rather slow innings. His innings of 29* runs in 37 balls drew a lot of polarising opinions, but on a sluggish pitch, it was an innings which took India to a competitive total.

File image of MS Dhoni (PTI)

“It (the slow strike rate) was probably fair enough. With the way the wicket was behaving, it was difficult to score for any batter, let alone a guy who is not known for his power-hitting in Chahal,” Maxwell said in Dhoni’s defence after the Vizag innings.

If we take a further look at the numbers, Dhoni has played 16 innings against Australia in which he has scored 273 runs at a strike rate of 106.64.

This is his lowest strike rate against any team in T20Is (more than 5 innings played).

However, Bengaluru has been a happy hunting ground for the former captain. On a pitch which generally assists stroke making, Dhoni has scored 536 runs in 17 T20s which is the second most runs scored by him at a venue in his career. He scored 56 off 36 balls, which was his first 50 against England in 2017.

In all the venues he’s batted for more than 5 innings, his average of 59.55 is the 3rd best. As India look to draw level in the series, a fit and firing Dhoni in the middle order will be instrumental to their cause and his record in Bengaluru certainly paints a good picture.