Dhoni takes swipe at critics after starring role for India against South Africa

Indore: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a swipe at critics who demanded he be sacked as captain after recent losses in limited-overs cricket.

The skipper led from the front as the hosts fought back to stun South Africa by 22 runs in the second One Day International in Indore on Wednesday.

India, restricted to 247-9 after electing to take first strike in good batting conditions, hit back to bowl South Africa out for 225 and level the five-match series 1-1.

Dhoni, who was named man of the match, said: “It was not an easy game to play.

“A lot of people wait with open swords and want you to make mistakes.

“Overall, it was not a very convincing win. We can play a lot better than this. We’re not playing to our potential, not even 80 percent, either in batting or in bowling.

“We should have got more runs on the board, but our spinners did well upfront and the seamers too joined the action.”

South Africa’s captain AB de Villiers complimented India for the victory, but said his team had batted poorly.

“Credit to India, they pulled it off across the line,” he said. “The target was manageable, but it was a poor batting performance from us. We had a good start but could not keep that going.

“You have to stay positive whatever the total you are chasing. We could not execute the chase well.”

South Africa had won the preceding Twenty20 series 2-0. The one-dayers will be followed by four Test matches.