It`s high time for MS Dhoni to perform in Tests

India have tasted yet another Test series defeat while playing on foreign soil. Certainly, this 1-0 loss against South Africa is not as humiliating as the losses met in Australia or England where they lost 4-0 on both occasions.

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

New Delhi: India have tasted yet another Test series defeat while playing on foreign soil. Certainly, this 1-0 loss against South Africa is not as humiliating as the losses met in Australia or England where India lost 4-0 on both occasions. Thankfully, this time around, a few Indian batsmen showed enough maturity while facing the fearsome bowling attack of Steyn & Co and in fact even Indian fast bowlers performed well, though in patches. But the three batsmen who failed miserably against the Proteas were – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Indian skipper MS Dhoni. If Dhawan failed to learn from his mistakes in both the Tests, Rohit kept struggling with movement and bounce on these tracks. Indian skipper MS Dhoni looked off-colour and failed to play crucial knocks. In the two-match test series, he scored – 19, 29, 24 and 15 runs. The outcome of the matches could have been different, had Dhoni showed some patience on the last day of Durban Test. His support to Ajinkya Rahane could have helped India draw the Test if not win it. That would also have led the Indian team to return with their heads held high. But Dhoni simply failed to lead his team with example. Even in Australia and England, Dhoni didn’t contribute well with the willow and averaged below 30. In fact, he hasn’t scored an overseas ton for quite some time now. His last Test century came against Pakistan in Faisalabad way back in 2006. It’s high time for Dhoni to perform in whites now, especially while playing on foreign soils to give the young team some solidity in the middle order.