Nagpur: After playing a nail-biting series- opener, rival captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ricky Ponting acknowledge that batting power-plays have become crucial as it can influence the result of a one-day match.

India lost the first ODI of the seven-match series by a narrow four-run margin against Australia here yesterday and both the captains said that performance during the power-plays can have a bearing on the match.

Chasing 293 to win, India were quite comfortable at 167 for three at one stage but the script changed when skipper Dhoni opted for batting-power play and ended up losing four wickets in that period.

"We lost wickets during power-plays, too many in fact. That was the turning point. If you don't have enough wickets in hand you cannot cash in on the power-play," Dhoni said.

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