Angry Indian cricket fans took to social media platforms to vent out their ire on former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his rather slow batting against Australia in the first Twenty20 International against Australia in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Having arrived in the 10th over of the Indian innings after the fall of Rishabh Pant, the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman remained unbeaten for a score of 29 from 37 balls even as India managed just 126/7.
Once regarded as the greatest finisher in the game with the ability to hit boundaries at will, the 37-year-old looked a spent force at Vizag, failing to time and muscle his shots as his fans would like to see.
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And it left fans furious and some even called for his head, while others suggested him to join politics.
Here are some reactions:
By the way, earlier this month, Dhoni was accorded a warm welcome as Team India returned home after a long and arduous tour Down Under.
To be fair to Dhoni, a clutch of wickets fell and he also had to stem the rot with Yuzvendra Chahal at the other end.
And Australian Glenn Maxwell defended the veteran player.
"It (the slow strike rate) was probably fair enough. With the way the wicket was behaving, it was difficult to score for any batter, let alone a guy who is not known for his power-hitting in Chahal.
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"MS is obviously a world-class finisher and even he was finding it hard to hit the middle of the bat. So, I think it was right of him to try and farm the strike. He hit a six in the last over and I think that showed how difficult it was.
"If you are holding MS to one boundary in the last few overs, it's a pretty good effort and also a sign of the conditions as well," Maxwell said.
The second and final T20I will be played in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
