'One series can't make Dhoni bad'

Middle-order batsman Suresh Raina has come out in full support of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the beleaguered Indian skipper and his achievements “can’t be shown disrespect” and that he still has a lot of cricket left in him.Man of the Match in India’s consolation win in the third and final ODI here on Thursday’s night, Raina defended his Chennai Super Kings captain Dhoni, who has come in for criticism following India’s first ever series defeat to Bangladesh.

“You can’t disrespect him and what he has achieved,” Raina said at the post-match press conference.“He has won so many trophies for the BCCI. At the same time he’s a good human being, good honest man. One series can’t make him bad. He’s a good leader. Everyone loves him in the dressing room. There’s still a lot of cricket left for him. So just wait for some time.

“losing just one series doesn’t make you a bad team. I think credit should be given to MS (Dhoni) with the way he led the team with the bat and then marshaled the side to this victory,” said the batting all-rounder, who blazed his way to a 21-ball 38 and then took three wickets.

“The team’s graph is going upwards definitely. These were the last matches of the season. We don’t know when we are next playing one-days. We have done quite well in the format and we are still No.2 in the world. It’s not that you become good or bad in just one series,” said Raina.

Having stuck to his role as finisher for a long time, Dhoni promoted himself up the order to try and lend India’s middle order some backbone.Raina said, “The way he (Dhoni) has batted in the last two games has showed how important No. 4 is for him. He has taken a lot of responsibility over the years and he showed it today as well. He set the tone for us today with Shikhar.

“Me and Stuey (Binny) had a good partnership after the 40th over, you can execute (big shots) later on. look at the kind of players we have. look at Ambati Rayudu, he batted really well with MS also. So if you have a partnership of 70-80, then you can easily accelerate later on.”

Raina said he is happy to do whatever is asked of his bowling. “I know what my role is as a bowler. Whether it is bowling two or three overs in the middle or go for a longer spell whatever the team thinks of me.

“We know Shakib (Al Hasan) and Mushfiqur (Rahim) have world of experience behind them. Shakib has been playing so long in IPl so he knows how to score in situations like these. So taking those two wickets was very important,” added Raina, who scored 112 quick runs in three matches.While admitting that batting lower down the order is not an easy task, he did say he was better suited to the role now.

“No. 6 is not an easy position, you have to accelerate. Sometimes you get runs, sometimes you don’t. But still you need to be positive in your mind. I am really happy. I have worked really hard with Ravi (Shastri) and at the same time Sanjay Bangar has really helped me a lot as well. “like I used to bat at leg stump, but Ravi said if you stay at middle you can play your shots over cover, over mid-off, over mid-on (better).”

‘msd gives me confidence’

 Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has said that Dhoni’s elevation up the order is not only an advantage to the line-up but personally gives him confidence while batting. “It gives me a lot of confidence to see him walk into the middle while I am at the crease. We also enjoy each other’s company and so it’s fun batting with him. The way he adapts to various situations makes my life easier,” Dhawan told bcci.tv after the team’s consolation win in the final ODI last night.

“Today I couldn’t get the off-spinner (Nasir Hossain) away and he hit a four and a six in an over against him. That kept me from taking any unwarranted risk. He also rotates the strike excellently when required and doesn’t let any scoreboard pressure build on his partner. Having him in the middle-order is very advantageous for us. I feel it’s a very good move,” he added.

Young Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman was the star of the series with 13 wickets in his bag. Dahwan though believes that the “unknown factor” and favourable pitch conditions made the bowler more effective.

“First of all there was the unknown factor since we had never seen or faced him before. Secondly, he knew the conditions very well. His slower ball was very effective here because he was getting that turn from the wicket. He bowls that slower one at the right length and so, was the perfect bowler for this pitch,” he said.

Dhawan, who also scored a strokeful 173 in the lone Test against the hosts, admits that the Men in Blue were hurt by the opening two losses. “We were really hurt that we lost the series against Bangladesh. Those two losses hit everyone hard and we all looked back at them and tried to find why we lost. 

Also, after playing two matches here, we had a much better idea of the wicket. We got into that rhythm and made it count,” said Dhawan.