MS Dhoni brings a sense of calmness to Virat Kohli's captaincy, says David Warner

Courtesy: Twitter

New Delhi: Australia vice-captain David Warner found it very hard to explain his team's continuing batting failure in the ongoing ODI series against India, but dismissed criticism that the visitors were struggling to read the home spinners.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have consistently bamboozled the visitors in the series but Warner said it has got nothing to do with the batsmen's ability to pick their line. The Aussies are currently trailing 0-2 in the five-match series.

Explaining the predicament, the left-hander said listless batting at the top makes it difficult to take the spinners head on.

"I find that the players can read them. One or two of the players probably can't see the seam. Players react of the wicket. One needs to have a game plan against spin. When you lose wickets in clumps, one gets tentative," Warner said at the pre-match press conference.

"One has to apply pressure. If you get off to a good start and the spinners come on, it is a different ball game. The tempo is different."

Talking about the home team, Warner said that MS Dhoni deserves credit for Virat Kohli's success as captain.

"MS Dhoni brought a sense of calmness to his captaincy. He did a great job as captain and he is still doing a great job, nurturing Virat and that is a great thing to do for a former captain."

"He is nurturing Virat and that is a good thing to do for both men," the Australian vice-captain was quoted as saying by India Today.

However, at the same time Warner warned Virat that his true test as a captain will come when the going gets tough for the team.

"Virat has not had a lot of non-success as captain but the real challenge comes when you start losing games. We are here for another three matches to go and hopefully we can turn that around and maybe we will see a different captain," Warner added.