Odishatv Bureau
Melbourne: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was scathing in his criticism of his bowlers for bowling too many loose deliveries against Australia as they lost the first match of the one-day series at the MCG, here today. "If you see the game, they bowled too short. Two (bowlers) went for a lot of runs. You do bowl loose deliveries but there are certain so loose that they would always go for a four or a six," Dhoni said after his side`s 65-run defeat.

"Today we bowled a lot of these deliveries. Even if it`s a big ground, the execution wasn`t great and that was the reason they could score 216 runs," he added. The two bowlers facing Dhoni`s ire were Ravinder Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin who leaked runs liberally. "It`s a worry. If Jadeja doesn`t bowl well, then the stability of the side is affected. You also need a batsman who can bat at number seven. You need to restrict the opponent, you can`t let them score too many runs, thinking your batters can chase down any total.

"You have to bowl well for the batters to have a reasonable chance to chase down a total." Jadjea conceded 41 runs in his 2.4 overs and was hit for three sixes. He also bowled two no-balls and a wide. "As for Ashwin, it`s very difficult. At times bowlers don`t bowl well. It has effect on everyone. He is a good bowler, he has done well. But then it`s his first series in Australia.

"He is still getting used to it, especially with the white ball and the bounce of the wicket. If you bowl a loose delivery here, more often than not you would be scored off. It could be playing on his mind." One bowler who earned the skipper`s approval was young leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who picked up Australian opener Mathew Wade`s wicket and induced a lot of edges.

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