Have to be at our best in the decider: Dhoni

Having lost the chance of sealing the five match ODI series in his hometown a disappointed MS Dhoni said that they need to play their best cricket in the final ODI to win the series.

Chasing 261, India lost the fourth ODI by 19 runs after they were bowled out for 241. "We will have to be at our best in the decider," the Indian skipper said.

Reflecting on the team's loss, Dhoni pointed that India didn't had a good start with the ball. "I think it was the first 10 where we gave away a lot of runs and the extras," Dhoni said.

India's over dependence on Virat Kohli was quite evident as they once again failed to pull off a chase on a good batting surface.

Kohli made a superb 45, but his dismissal triggered a collapse as India failed to recover.

Speaking on the batting, Dhoni said that the loss was similar to that of New Delhi.

"I think we could have still chased 260 if we had wickets in hand. Quite similar to Delhi where we kept losing wickets. The wicket was best to bat on in the afternoon, and it kept getting slower and slower. The new ball under lights still came on but as it got older it became difficult," the skipper said.

Dhoni unlike the earlier match failed to make an impact while batting at No 4 position as the skipper made just 11 runs. The likes of Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel failed to hold their nerve to give New Zealand an important win.

Dhoni said that the lower order needs time and that the batsmen will understand their responsibility with experience.

"The Nos 5 and 6 are quite new, they will learn their own way. Some will play big shots, some will take it deep. Once they have played 15-20 games, they will figure out what works for them."

When asked if he would advice the youngsters from not playing the big shots, Dhoni said, "Cricket has changed, people like to play big shots. It is important to not tell them to stop playing the shots, you don't want them to go into their shells. They played their shots when the ball was in their area. They will learn after they have played 15-20 games."

Although India lost the toss, Dhoni had said that he would have bowled first given the fact that dew will come into play. And the skipper backed his decision.

"Usually there is dew at this time of the year, and in Indian cricket the moment you talk about dew you want to bowl first," he signed off.

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