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Batsmen to blame: Dhoni

Special Correspondent

Melbourne: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed his batsmen for the debacle in the one-off Twenty20 match here on Friday.

“The batsmen played irresponsible shots. I can understand stroke-players getting out to big shots but then there were some who should have shown greater responsibility,” he said.

In the same breath, he admitted that the team’s batting lacked experience. Dhoni said Sachin Tendulkar had been rested for the game keeping in mind the amount of cricket ahead.

He maintained the result would not have any impact on the upcoming ODI tri-series. “The 50-over game is a completely different format,” he said.

The captain added, “It (the defeat) was more because we played badly than because the Australians played well.”

Perfect preparation

Michael Clarke said, “We want to be the best Twenty20 team in the World and this is the first step in that direction.”

He revealed the Australians had studied videos of how the Indian batsmen played in Twenty20 cricket. “Our preparation was spot on and the execution perfect,” Clarke said.

The stand-in captain complimented his bowlers.

“The batsmen had an easy job,” he said.

He noted the Aussies had left the Harbhajan issue behind them. Clarke said the team was focussed on the rest of the summer.

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