India vs Australia: ‘Tonight was an MS classic’ – Virat Kohli lauds Dhoni after Adelaide win

MS Dhoni scored an unbeaten half-century and also hit the winning runs to play a starring role in India’s series-levelling victory.

Captain Virat Kohli heaped praise on wicket-keeper-batsman MS Dhoni after India beat Australia by six wickets in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval to level the three-match series 1-1, on Tuesday.

India's Virat Kohli celebrates his 100 against Australia with teammate MS Dhoni during their one day international cricket match in Adelaide, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (AP)

MS Dhoni scored an unbeaten half-century and also hit the winning runs to play a starring role in India’s series-levelling victory. Following the end of the match, Kohli lauded Dhoni and said that his composure at the end of the innings was special.

“Tonight was an MS (Dhoni) classic. Only he knows what’s going through his mind and he calculates the game so well. He backs himself to hit those big hits as well,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation.

“Hats off to Dinesh (Karthik) as well. He came in and showed the right kind of intent. MS was as composed as ever and tonight was special for us.”

Kohli could not take his team home this time but Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 14) rose to the occasion with an unbeaten 57-run stand, helping India chase down a target of 299 with four balls to spare.

“You look for little moments to pump you up, get into the zone, and that’s what I was trying to do. I tried to stay as aware as possible in recognising the moment to strike.

“I thought those 2-3 overs were the moment, to bring the gap between runs and balls down. When it comes off it looks good. It was a really tough day.

“My pants are white with the sweat, the salts coming out. MS was tired as well, fielding for 50 overs and batting as well, it was tough.” Kohli praised seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his crucial blows at the death.

“We wanted to try and restrict them in the end. I thought they were going to get away from us when Maxy (Glenn Maxwell) and Shaun (Marsh) were in. Getting them in two balls was brilliant. I thought 298 was par on that wicket, with the start they had.

“Bhuvi was outstanding to pull things back for us. Vijay Shankar is in the squad, he’s an all-rounder, so that gives us an option to play around with - but we’ll see how we go. But backing five bowlers and seeing it come off is pleasing as a captain.”

Australia rode Marsh’s century to post a challenging target after winning the first ODI. But India’s batting might proved too good for the home bowlers. Skipper Aaron Finch acknowledged that.

“When you come up like a batting side against India, you know you have to get wickets regularly, and we ran into that man Dhoni as well. Credit to India, they played well.

“What we’ve been working towards is some real solid performances through the middle overs. I’m responsible for the Powerplays, and I’ve not been coming off. It’s a matter of time, I think. “It’s not easy when you’re not getting runs, but captaincy is separate from personal performance, and you have to be consistent with your actions,” Finch said.

((With Agency Inputs))