"We don't think about revenge in sport. You have to see the stakes, whether you are buying a $5 or $500 ticket. The previous series doesn't really matter," the Indian skipper said after the match. "We have exploited the conditions well. Even the fast bowlers have done well in spite of the conditions favouring spinners. Jadeja's inclusion has helped. It means we are playing with five specialist bowlers," he added.
Talking about India's thrilling win in Mohali, the Indian skipper did agree that his team was under pressure during the 133-run chase. "With one batsman less and the lower order not scoring enough runs, yes we were under a bit of pressure," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference.
Though India won the match by six wickets, it was a close finish with Dhoni himself hitting the winning runs with just 15 balls remaining in the Test match.
"It got close in the end. If you see I don't gamble... we had everything to lose, nothing to gain. It was important that batsmen who are set stay there till the end. Vijay got out when he was playing well," the skipper added.
Dhoni was effusive in his praise of debutant opener Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a match-winning 187 off just 168 balls.
"I think it's important to back yourself. Shikhar backed himself to play a few shots and once he got to the 50, he was determined to make a big one. His knock gave us the momentum we needed," Dhoni said. The skipper, however, had word of caution for Dhawan. "He has got off to a good start. It does not matter how well you have played in domestic cricket, in that first game, you are nervous. He handled that well. But the coming days will be slightly tougher in the sense that he has raised his own expectations."
0 comments:
Post a Comment