We should have won this game, says Dhoni

The home side collapsed at the business end of the chase in a high-scoring encounter to lose by five runs after Rohit Sharma’s 150 laid the base for a chase of 304.

“The outcome was not great for us, there were plenty that went wrong, but we showed character to get close. Frankly we should have won this game,” Dhoni said at the prize-giving ceremony.

“We missed Ash's (Ravichandran Ashwin) six overs (and) that was crucial because he was our best spinner ... until that point the plan was working beautifully but I had to get more overs from (Stuart) Binny and (Suresh) Raina. In the end I thought out bowlers should have done a bit better,” he added.

Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane shared in a 149-run second wicket stand to propel India forward. “I thought the partnership between Rohit and Rahane was superb to keep it (scoreboard) ticking,” said Dhoni.

But the chase went south thereafter.

Dhoni’s captaincy along with the dip in his batting form has come under the scanner following the ODI series defeat in Bangladesh and the T20 series against South Africa last week. Dhoni had the opportunity to win the match for India after he joined Sharma, with the team needing 90 runs from 60 balls.

“It was a bit difficult, it was not coming at a good height so it becomes difficult on such a wicket,” Dhoni said. “It was a bit two-paced once the ball gets scuffed. A lot depends on the execution part. It's not only about the boundaries you have to keep the score ticking.”