MS Dhoni refused to condemn the booing of Moeen Ali by India supporters in his home city of Birmingham for the second time inside a week during England’s narrow Twenty20 victory.

England’s captain Eoin Morgan said he had not been aware of the jeers, joking that “We all got booed” by the vast majority of a capacity 24,000 crowd who were supporting India. But the boos were loud and unmistakable whenever Moeen was involved in the game whether batting during a brief innings or later bowling and fielding – and Ravi Bopara, the other British Asian in the team who is of Indian rather than Pakistani descent, also received milder abuse.

When asked whether he would condemn the booing at his post-match media conference, Dhoni pointed out that Ravindra Jadeja had received similar treatment through the Test series after his clash with Jimmy Anderson in the Trent Bridge pavilion. “It is the last match of the tour, let us not have a controversy,” said the India captain.

Dhoni was also unapologetic for his attempt to win the match single-handed in the last over, when he twice refused singles to maintain the strike despite the presence of Ambati Rayudu, a specialist batsman, at the other end. “Rayudu had just come into bat and he’s not used to batting at six or seven – it’s very difficult,” said Dhoni. “He didn’t really middle a lot of deliveries. I hit the first ball [of the last over] for six, so I thought it was a better option. It’s important to back yourself, that’s my speciality, you have to take the onus. In this game it didn’t really pay off.”

Morgan praised the composure shown by Chris Woakes after conceding that six and also had warm words for Steven Finn, his Middlesex team-mate who has ended the international campaign with notable performances in the last match of the 50-over series at Headingley on Friday, and then in the crucial closing overs at Edgbaston. “Seeing where he was in the winter, and being very close to him at Middlesex, I know how low he was and how high he is now,” added the Irishman. “It’s brilliant to see him back in full flow.”