Dhoni, Indian captain, Admits He May have Been Wrong over Ashish Nehra for Last Over v SA

South Africa needed thirteen runs from the final over with three wickets in hand with Robin Peterson and Faf du Plessis at the crease. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain had two choices - Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra. (Think. Now think again.)

ashish nehra finger on lips

India had some serious face saving to do after losing the plot once before while they were batting. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar had provided India a great platform which was frittered away after some of the Indian batsmen tried to go for glory without the work time put in.

South Africa made a great effort not only to come back into the match but also, to make a great chase of the 294 with the final over making the difference between winning and losing.

Dhoni opted for the injured and indifferent Ashish Nehra over the bowler who really tested the opposition on the night. And the instant that the ball was in Nehra's hands, there could have been few less a billion Indian voices either moaning or voicing expletives over the decision.

True to form, Nehra failed to make a case for himself as Robin Peterson proved too determined on the day and capitalized on Nehra's lack of focus in getting his line and length right. Everything about Nehra's body language of late has been one of dismay and despair and it was indeed a surprise in light of that fact that Dhoni chose to go with the bowler rather than trust his spinner to do a better job.

If Dhoni had tried Harbhajan Singh who had been the better bowler on the night, at least he would have had brownie points for at least trying to be different. Certainly none would have criticized him like they are even if the ploy failed. Instead Nehra seemed the traditional choice of choosing a fast medium bowler over a spinner for the final over Dhoni, otherwise intuitive, fell to the stereotype.

But the shrewd Indian captain realized he had blundered and he knew that the decision would kick up a storm. And before he faced a barrage of questions at the press conference to follow, Dhoni decided to quell the storm by admitting at the post match presentation that he admitted with the choice of Nehra over Harbhajan Singh.

The only problem: no one was willing to let Dhoni off the hook that easily as fans quickly began to voice their anger, disappointment or disapproval over the decision. Others chose to focus on Dhoni's other tirade against his team that they were playing to the gallery rather than focussing on winning the match for the country, kicking off a whole other ball game.