Jharkhand coach blames wicket for Dhoni's below par show

Kolkata: Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar on Friday blamed the Jadavpur University second campus wicket, saying skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not have done much as they succumbed to a 21-run loss to Hyderabad in a Group D Vijay Hazare cricket tie here.

"He could not have done much. There was little time to react. It was a good length ball that stayed low and skidded on to the stumps. It was his bad luck," Kumar told reporters after the former India captain scored a 47-ball 28 in which he took 20 deliveries to hit a boundary.

Jharkhand are now running against the tide after their latest defeat which saw a fine century by Saurabh Tiwary (102 off 104) go in vain.

Praising Dhoni's leadership which helped the team restrict Hyderabad to 203/8 in 50 overs, coach Kumar said, "Here we could restrict them for 200-odd. There's an overall improvement but wicket has been difficult, we have not been successful to adapt quickly."

"He (Dhoni) has seen situations like no one else here. Nobody knows to finish a game better than him. His presence is a big boost for the side. In Kalyani we lost three but Jaggi and Saurabh finished the game. It's a big learning experience for all of us."

Kumar added that Dhoni spoke to the teammates for a long time after the game and they are confident of a late push for the last eight stage.

"He had a good chat with the team. He told us what are the areas of weakness we need to work as a team," he added.