He was of the opinion that sending a pinch hitter instead of a proper batsman at the crucial number three spot was the main reason for India's loss. Chasing a mere 204 to win, India were bowled out for 153 in the 42nd over. This was their second straight loss in the Commonwealth Bank tri-series."You don't take a chance when you chase such small totals. A proper batsman should have come in instead of Pathan and ensured India did not lose any more wickets and the scoreboard kept ticking. And it is also not that Pathan has been in terrific boundary-hitting form."Akram was also critical of MS Dhoni's decision to toss the ball to Yuvraj Singh at a time the Australians were reeling with half their side back in the pavilion. He said, "India should have gone for the kill. The main bowlers should have been persisted with to wrap up the Australian innings. I could have understood Yuvraj bowling in the middle overs if he was in terrific wicket-taking form but that is not the case."The former player turned expert commenator also felt Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal was dubious. "I think the ball was too high and would have missed the stumps."He was also not happy with the way Gautan Gambhir paced his innings and was critical of his shot selection. "He is a very talented player but played one shot too many. When you are chasing a small total, you must play like a proper opener and get into a four day match mode. You need to see off the new ball and pick up the singles."According to Akram, Dhoni was the only Indian batsman who looked like giving some fight but was hampered by his injury. He said, "After the captain’s dismissal none of the other batsman offered much. Rohit Sharma’s inexperience was apparent at the way he got out. A slash outside off stump was just not on at that stage."
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