Urge to hit sixes done us in: Mahi

Agencies

Christchurch: Mahendra Singh Dhoni flayed the irresponsible batting by his teammates and felt the temptation of hitting sixes in a small ground did them in against New Zealand in the first Twenty20 match here on Wednesday.

In a match where 24 sixes -- new record for a Twenty20 international -- were hit, none of the Indian batsmen, barring the possible exception of Suresh Raina (61), showed any application, which annoyed Dhoni. The Indian captain said the team was in unnecessary hurry and there was a lack of responsibility among the batsmen.

"We failed to realise that it's a 20-over game. At times people think there is not enough overs but it's a decently long game," Dhoni said. "We failed as a team today. Nobody took the responsibility to stay in the middle, especially when we lost 2-3 quick wickets. Somebody should have stayed there, knocking the ball here and there.

"It's important to have wickets in hand so that you can capitalise on the last five overs. It was a learning experience for us," he added.

Warning teammates against taking things lightly, Dhoni said, "You just cannot go through the motions. A batsman hitting the ball nicely doesn't mean I too would go out and try the same." Criticising the tendency to go ultra-aggressive, Dhoni said, "We have big-hitters in our side, that's a huge advantage. But at times we tend to go with the flow, we have to be careful about that.

"At times, you have short ground and you want to hit more sixes than fours and most of our batsmen was looking to hit sixes, not concentrating on singles or fours," he said. In contrast, Dhoni was happy with the way his bowlers tried to defend the modest total.

"It was a tough wicket, good for batting and I'm happy with the way they bowled. It was good to see Harbhajan Singh bowling well. He returned after a long time and it was nice to see him in rhythm," Dhoni said.

His opposite number Daniel Vettori singled out Brendon McCullum, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his sedate unbeaten 56, for special praise and also hailed the bowlers for taming India's star-studded batting line-up.

"The way Brendon handled the chase, it was really great. (Martin) Guptill also played his natural game and we proved we are a decent Twenty20 side. "Our bowlers also did a fantastic job by restricting India to 160-odd. We knew they have some exceptional players and they would put pressure on us," Vettori said.

McCullum, on his part, said he learnt the importance of singles in a T20 tie after the recent series against Australia and it stood him in good stead today. "Against Australia, we didn't get enough singles and went for big hits only. We learnt from there. "Initially, we thought we would have to chase 300. After all they are the Twenty20 world champions," he said.