Cuttack, Nov 26: Losing three top order batsmen did
put India in a spot of bother in the fifth one-dayer against
England but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he never feared
the match slipping through his fingers.
Chasing 271, India got off to a rollicking start with
Virender Sehwag, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his
73-ball 91, and Sachin Tendulkar (50) firing on all cylinders.
From 136 for no loss, India, however, soon slumped to 156
for three with both the openers and in-form Yuvraj Singh
returning to the pavilion before Dhoni and Suresh Raina --
both slammed half-centuries -- steadied the ship.
"We knew one thing that they had three seamers and they
had almost finished their quota. So they had to bowl the
spinners," Dhoni said, explaining his gameplan.
"We had one Powerplay still left and the asking rate was
quite down. We knew if we survive for a while, we can get our
eyes in and rotate the strike," said the Indian skipper.
The job, however, was not as easy as it looked, he said.
"Light was low, it was difficult to sight the ball. It
was moist and was losing colour but once you are set you can
rotate the strike," he said.
Dhoni said the Indian pacers made a good come back in the
match after their rather average first spells.
"We didn't get the best of starts from the new ball
bowlers and in the middle I think the spinners did their job.
In the second Powerplay, when the batsmen were set, I think
Zaheer (Khan) and Ishant (Sharma) did a splendid job. They had
restricted the England innings to 270 when they looked like
getting 300," he said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 00:00