Problem areas not too big: Dhoni

The what ifs floating around on the day India made their Champions Trophy exit diluted the shrill whodunit that usually follows such happenings.

The what ifs floating around on the day India made their Champions Trophy exit diluted the shrill whodunit that usually follows such happenings. Indian skipper MS Dhoni wasnt quite at a loss for words looking back at his teams stay in South Africa. Thanks to the teams flawless show against the West Indies that saw them getting their first win of the tournament,he didnt sound like a defeated captain. With Indias Champions Trophy record reading one win,one loss and one abandoned game,Dhoni managed convincing answers to the probing questions.

It is tough for me to judge if we were good in the tournament or not. Even when we were chasing 300-odd runs against Pakistan,we could have won. The second game was washed out and the third we won, Dhoni said.

The next query was a bit more difficult,as the skipper was asked about Indias recent dismal record in high-pressure games in ICC tournaments. I dont think there is a big difference between playing a tri-series,a bi-lateral series or a big tournament like this. Ultimately,after all,youre just playing one team at a time and you dont think of the other teams. But we didnt do well in the Twenty20 tournament and in this one we couldnt advance. These are facts, he said.

Not everybody seemed convinced by Dhonis this isnt a crisis stand. Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram,who was inducted to the ICC Hall of Fame on Wednesday,wasnt too impressed with the look of the Indian team on the field. I think the body language of the Indians in this tournament wasnt good at all, he said.

He went on to add that the Indian skipper should have had a word with Harbhajan Singh when the off-spinner was bowling the wrong line against Pakistan. During his spe ll of 10-0-71-1 in the first game,Harbhajan was mostly bowling on the middle-leg line and when he ventured towards the off-stump,he bowled too short. This helped the Pakistan players avoid taking risks and score most of their runs square of the wicket. He should have bowled a fuller length and made the batsmen drive through the covers. That would have given him a better chance of getting wickets, Akram said.

Akram also found the Indians pacers lacking bite. The former Pakistan captain said that the most noticeable thing in the performance of the Indian pacers was their lack of pace. This is a trend I have noticed in Indian pacers. When they start playing international cricket,they have the pace,but it gradually drops. I have been noticing this with Ishant,RP,Munaf and Irfan. Those looking after them should insist on letting them know that there is a drop in their pace, he said.

For Dhoni,though,pace wasnt a big issue as long as his bowlers stuck to the right line and length. Before Indias final group game against the West Indies,he had spoken of the bowlers tendency to bowl short being responsible for the team conceding so many runs in the first two games.

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Though the Indian pacers came up with a much-improved show against the West Indies,Dhoni was making plans for overcoming their weaknesses. We will be meeting before the series against Australia and the area we need to improve on is the line and length of pacers. We gave too much width to the batsmen. I dont think the problem is so big that it cannot be solved, he said.