MS Dhoni backs Suresh Raina, gives him batting advice

MS Dhoni advices Suresh Raina to take some time before he plays his big shots

Middle-order Indian batsman Suresh Raina, who has been facing a lot of heat for his poor performances, has got some much needed support from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Raina, who has been struggling for runs in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, was advised by Captain Cool to give himself a bit more time before unleashing his big shots.

"More than the form he needs to give himself a bit more time. He's gone in and played the big shots. Whenever you go in you actually have more time than what you think. It's important for him to play a few deliveries," said Dhoni at the post-match press conference after India lost the third ODI by 18 runs at Rajkot last night.

"It's not easy to straightaway play the big shots. He needs to give himself a bit more time as it becomes difficult to find people who can clear the big outfield. My personal feeling is he needs to give himself a bit more time and everything will be fine," said the captain.

The Uttar Pradesh left-hander was dismissed for ducks in the last two games after scoring just three in the series opener at Kanpur. He had a miserable time in the preceding T20 series as well scoring 14 and 22 respectively.

Slow wicket and big outfield made things difficult for India

Talking about Sunday's game that India lost by 18 runs after failing to chase South Africa's 270 on a slow pitch, Dhoni said the wicket became increasingly slower as the game progressed and made life difficult for the batsmen.

"In the first half, the wicket played differently and as the game progressed, it became more and more difficult. If the wicket had not changed, 270 was a very good effort by our bowlers. But it became slower and we were not able to play the big shots. I thought it was a good wicket to bat on, the spinners did not get much assistance but they bowled well. The fast bowlers used the extra fielder in the end quite nicely. If the wicket had not got slower, 270 was a par score."

Dhoni contributed with 47 runs and also added 80 runs with his deputy Virat Kohli, who top scored with 77. The Indian skipper rued that not enough runs were scored in the first 10 overs when openers Rohit Sharma (65) and Shikhar Dhawan (13) batted and then between 30 and 40 overs when he and Kohli got together.

"I don't think we got enough runs in the first 10 which was a crucial phase with the wicket getting slower. And 30th to 40th again was another crucial period. We wanted to bat quite late and at the same time we started playing the big shots close to the 37th over. But though I and Virat were set we were not able to connect and play big shots. We never middled anything. Also not to forget the outfield over here is big. It was a tough one, especially with less pace on offer and you have to play the big shots," Dhoni explained.