Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni squarely put the blame on his batsmen for the crushing 87-run defeat at the hands of Australia in a critical match at the SCG here on Sunday.
"I don't need to explain (any futher). We have not done enough with the bat. We have to get them (the rivals) out below 200 to win games (it seems)," said Dhoni, after India all but crashed out of the Commonwealth Bank one-day series here.
"We have a much better line-up. Since we are not in good form, it's the pressure on batsmen who are scoring runs (to stay put). The Nos 7, 8 or 9 batsmen are coming in by the 30th over. We were five wickets are down after 20 overs. We haven't done well consistently enough."
Dhoni said he didn't believe in being harsh to individuals within the team and wanted a set batsman to make the most of his stay in the middle.
"We have been explaining what needs to be done. I am not a believer in pin-pointing individuals. On wickets with pace and bounce, you need to give more time to yourself. The batsmen who are set have to sweat it out because all of us are not in good form. Gautam (Gambhir) did so in a couple of games and we did really well."
{{/usCountry}}"We have been explaining what needs to be done. I am not a believer in pin-pointing individuals. On wickets with pace and bounce, you need to give more time to yourself. The batsmen who are set have to sweat it out because all of us are not in good form. Gautam (Gambhir) did so in a couple of games and we did really well."
{{/usCountry}}Dhoni, who wasn't aware that India could still qualify for the finals—provided India beats Sri Lanka with a bonus point in Hobart, feels there is still a realistic chance.
"It gives us another chance. It means you have to chase the opposition score in 40 overs which may be a very difficult task but at least we have a chance. It's also a realistic chance for a team which is going through a bad phase and has nothing to lose, you could just come out and express yourself and go for big strokes."