Loss of early wickets cost us dear: Dhoni

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the early loss of wickets for the crushing defeat against Australia in the seventh match of the One-day International tri-series here Sunday.

Dhoni(56) for the third time in the series had to come to India’s rescue after Australia set a stiff target of 288. India lost Gautam Gambhir (5), Sachin Tendulkar (3), Virat Kohli (12) and Rohit Sharma (0) in no time to put the side in a precarious position.

“With that kind of score you needed a brisk start. They got early breakthroughs and that put pressure on us. Our bowlers were affected by the heat, they were cramping so it affected their execution,” Dhoni said in the match presentation.

India were bowled out for just 178 runs giving Australia the top position in the table as well as a bonus point to take it four clear of second placed India.