Ranchi, Aug 10 (IANS) Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been going through a lean patch with the bat in England, got support from his hometown here as prayers were performed Wednesday to seek divine blessings for his performance and the rest of the Indian team.

The special prayers were done by offering water, milk and other material at a temple situated at Phoolbagan area here.

"We performed rudrabhishek to improve the performance of Dhoni who is facing tough time in his career. We are concerned about his poor performance which is also making an impact on the performance of India," head priest Acharya Krishnakant told IANS.

Posters of Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were kept inside the temple as 21 priests prayed for the Indian team.

India lost the first two Tests at Lord's and Trent Bridge. India will be dislodged from their No.1 Test ranking if the lose the four-match series by a margin of two Tests.

Dhoni, who led the Indian team to World Cup triumph this year, has struggled against the moving ball and has scored 49 runs in his last four innings.