India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stressed before yesterday's World T20 game against Australia the need to respect the bowlers and not to go slam-bang from the first ball. Yesterday, after a 49-run defeat, Dhoni was left wondering what had happened to his instructions. "You cannot spoon-feed everyone. You have to bat according to the situation," was Dhoni's reply to a question pertaining to his pre-match talk.

Australia scored 184 but Dhoni didn't believe the target was unachievable. "We needed a good start. This total was chaseable. I know the run-rate was mounting, but if you don't stay at the wicket, how will you score runs," he said.

Clearly, the Indians could not negotiate the quick stuff on a pace-friendly pitch. Dhoni admitted that this has been a problem for long, but turned back the clock to the 2007 edition of the tournament. "Remember, we did well on South African pitches in 2007, especially in Durban where the ball flies. We will come back," he said.
India play hosts West Indies on Sunday.

And yes, it's at the Kensington Oval.