NAGPUR: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lashed out at his batsmen for playing to the gallery and not for their country in the three-wicket World Cup defeat to South Africa. India looked set to post a mammoth total in Saturday's game when it reached 267-1 following Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant 111, but lost its last nine wickets for just 29 runs in nine overs. “In the batting powerplay, it's important that you don't play for the crowd, but for your country,” said Dhoni. The captain was furious over India's inability to master the powerplay and he insists his men will have to learn to make the most of the fielding restrictions if they are to achieve their World Cup dream. India still tops Group B with seven points from five games and should still make the quarterfinals, but Dhoni has concerns over his team. “The batting powerplay was the turning point of the match as we lost too many wickets during that period. After that, we should have curbed our instincts and looked to play out the 50 overs,” said the captain. “Spectators love to see fours and sixes, but when you lose two-three wickets, you need to change your approach. When you have 270-280 runs on the board, batsmen want to play big shots,” said Dhoni. “You need to curb your thinking. Different people have different roles and responsibilities.” India's dramatic collapse was triggered by South African paceman Dale Steyn in a man-of-the-match performance of 5-50. South Africa achieved their 297-run target with two balls to spare. Pakistan to host first series in two years The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will host a team from the Indian Punjab in June for a limited-over series as the country takes steps towards reviving international cricket on home soil following a two-year absence. On Sunday, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt confirmed an agreement had been reached with the Indian Punjab cricket association for a bilateral series in June and September in the Punjab provinces of the neighboring countries. “The governments of both countries have given the green light for the series to take place and the Indian Punjab team is also visiting Pakistan with the approval of the Indian cricket board,” Butt told the Dawn daily newspaper. No international or representative cricket has been played in Pakistan since March 2009 after militants attacked the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. The PCB has to hold its ‘home' series against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the UAE and England. Following the attack, the International Cricket Council (ICC) opted to remove Pakistan's co-hosting rights for 2011 World Cup matches. India has not played international cricket in Pakistan after political ties between the two countries became tense when terrorists attacked in Mumbai in Nov. 2008. Butt said Pakistan would host two one-day and two Twenty20 matches in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Multan under lights, while the Indian Punjab association would hold their matches in Chandigarh, Jullander and Amritsar in September. Lack of tests damning Zimbabwe Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher feels his batsmen are struggling in the World Cup because they have not competed at Test level for a long time. Zimbabwe has not played a test match since 2005 after its cricket board voluntarily suspended its test status due to political instability in the country. Butcher says players could learn how to spend longer times at the wicket by playing five-day games. Zimbabwe scored 298-9 in its solitary win over weak Canada but struggled against Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka and posted its next best score of 188 against the co
