MS Dhoni has asked for more patience to be shown with Indias inexperienced middle order after they couldnt complete a chase of 261 on a sluggish Ranchi pitch. Dhoni backed the young players to find their own method of finishing games, even if it meant going for big shots, referring to the dismissals of Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya at a critical juncture. While Pandey lofted a slower ball from Tim Southee to mid-on, Pandyas inside-out strike off Mitchell Santner was pouched by Tom Latham at long-off, and with this wicket India had slipped from 128 for 2 to 167 for 7.Cricket has changed, people like to play big shots. It is important to not tell them to stop playing the shots; you dont want them to go into their shells, Dhoni said at the presentation ceremony. They played their shots when the ball was in their area. 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.Dhonis post-match press conference was along the same lines; he reiterated the difficulty of batting down the order on such a sluggish pitch. Its important they get games like these and finally theyll figure out a way what suits them best to chase down a total like this, he said. Unless they get an opportunity like this it will be very difficult because thats how you get experience. You can learn a lot by watching but ultimately when you feel the pressure and go through that motion, thats where you learn a lot. It will be a good learning curve for them. Give them some time.Dhoni saw parallels with the defeat in Delhi, and said the loss of wickets in clumps hurt the team. He also hit out at Indias profligacy with the ball - they conceded 13 wides in the afternoon. I think it was the first 10 [overs] where we gave away a lot of runs and the extras, he said. The wicket was best to bat on in the afternoon, and it kept getting slower and slower. On a wicket like this when the score is not too much - we were not chasing anything over 6.5 or 7 runs an over - you need partnerships.Also, you need to realise that with two balls it initially comes on to the bat better and as the game progresses the wicket slows down and the ball doesnt come that well. Thats where it becomes difficult to freely rotate the strike.Indias innings received an early jolt after Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the fifth over. But, the chase was kept on track by Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who put on 79 runs for the second wicket. However, once Kohli was caught behind attempting to cut Ish Sodhi, Indias innings fell apart. Dhoni disagreed with the suggestion that Indias chases were overly dependent on Kohli.If you see the last one to one and a half years, we havent played a lot of ODI cricket, he said. In between we had Zimbabwe, we had three games so… I can say that the stats actually dont reflect the exact scenario because also in that period I have batted at a different position and our top order was batting brilliantly. So everything is very different. Just in this series, if you see, there have been a couple of games where the wicket was on the slower side.Its when the wickets are slow and when the required run rate is not high, you calculate and at times you play out a few overs thinking if you have a partnership at this moment, with more wickets in hand in the last few overs, you can look to chase down something thats even seven to seven and a half [runs per over]. We have got quite a few batsmen who can do the job. Its just that we have to give them more time. Batting down the order is one of the toughest things to do. You dont get a [ready-made] player whos complete, who bats at No. 5, 6 or 7, all the time. 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LAS VEGAS -- Metta World Peace is coming home to play for the New York Knicks. The Knicks said the contract has not been signed but an agreement has been reached. "The team is amazing, the players. Im excited to play and hustle," World Peace said Monday while attending the NBA summer league in Las Vegas. "Yes, this is going to happen," World Peaces agent, Marc Cornstein, said. "Hes really excited to be joining his hometown team. Thats obviously been something thats been a dream of his since growing up in Queensbridge. "Hes just thrilled to be joining the New York Knicks." World Peace was waived Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, who used the amnesty clause to create salary cap space. The 6-foot-7 forward will still be paid the $7.7 million that was owed to him by the Lakers. Cornstein said the new deal came about pretty quickly. The Knicks expressed interest right after they were allowed to reach out to the former NBA Defenssive Player of the Year.dddddddddddd "Obviously, Metta being from the area, and also much more importantly than just being a New Yorker, seeing the way he would fit in the team," Cornstein said. "Coach (Mike) Woodson did an incredible job explaining what his role would be. (Knicks GM) Glen Grunwald really made him feel wanted. "They just did a tremendous job; quite frankly, it became a pretty easy decision." World Peace attended St. Johns in New York, when he was known as Ron Artest. "It has nothing to do with New York, the city," World Peace said. "The only thing thats important are those players that Im going to be joining and touching that hallway with. Thats all thats important right now." In 14 NBA seasons with five teams, he has averaged 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. "I dont think Im a missing piece (to a puzzle)," he said. "Im more honoured to be playing with these players." ' ' '
