Australia edged past India in the first ODI of the seven-match series by a narrow margin of four runs here at the Reliance Stadium on Sunday and both captains said that performance during powerplays can have a bearing on the match.

Chasing 293 to win, India were quite comfortable at 167 for three at one stage but the script changed when Dhoni opted for batting powerplay and ended up losing four wickets in that period.

‘We lost wickets during powerplays, too many, in fact. That was the turning point. If you don’t have enough wickets in hand you cannot cash in on powerplay,’ Dhoni said.

He defended his decision to take powerplay a little early – between 35 and 39 overs – saying conditions demanded that move. He reckoned in the sub-continent conditions batting powerplay can be best utilised against a hard ball, so when ball got changed he opted for it.

‘In the sub-continent you want ball to be hard as once bowlers work on ball they get reverse swing going and once it happens it’s difficult to force the pace. The momentum happens when ball is hard and new. At the end of the day you don’t want difference between balls [remaining] and runs [to be scored] to be around 30 or 35,’ he reasoned.

Ponting admitted his team take powerplays seriously and do adequate planning. ‘We got to get it right as it can cost you a game as you saw it [on Sunday]. We have been guilty of it in the last few games that we have played,’ he said.

‘When we take our powerplay, we have generally lost a wicket in the first over. We lost one [Cameron White] to the second ball of our powerplay today. India lost one first ball. If you lose wickets in a powerplay, it slows you down and makes it almost irrelevant,’ Ponting said.

The Aussie skipper also wondered why batsmen do not play orthodox shots during powerplays but just throw their bat at each and everything.

‘Once field comes in, you think you have to hit a six every ball. If you still play normal cricket shots, like you do in Test matches, you can still hit ball through the field and it travels pretty quickly.’—Agencies