Skipper Dhoni says he blanked out for a moment when australia paceman Hilfenhaus struck him on the helmet yesterday
Skipper Dhoni says he blanked out for a moment when australia paceman Hilfenhaus struck him on the helmet yesterday
|
|
Congratulations all around: India players celebrate their 99-run victory against Australia in the second ODI at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Jamtha, Nagpur yesterday. pic/Suresh KK |
Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a wondrous innings against Australia in the second one-day international here yesterday, but the India skipper didn't have the best of starts to his innings after being hit on the helmet from a Ben Hilfenhaus bouncer.
"I went blank for a moment and it hurt a bit too. But I am quite used to it since this is not the first time I have been hit on the head," Dhoni said with a smile.
He also admitted he had some luck going for him yesterday. Since the time India and Australia landed in Nagpur, there was talk aboutu00a0 dew would make things difficult for bowlers to grip the ball at night.
So, after winning the toss, Ricky Ponting had no hesitation in electing to field. Both skippers had said they expected the pitch to last 100 overs and therefore chasing made more sense. As it turned out, the visitors suffered a 99-run loss and Dhoni could well be thanking his stars for losing the toss.
"Considering the dew factor and the fact that we had one spinner and two part-time spinners, we probably would have elected to field as well," Dhoni admitted.
With Sachin Tendulkar falling early and Virender Sehwag departing after a cameo, Ponting would have thought his decision was turning out to be the right one.
But Dhoni, along with Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina, turned things around to amass 354. "It's not often I win the toss and bowl. But because our team balance was affected with the absence of James Hopes and Brett Lee, batting was our strong point today so we thought it was better to chase.
"There was also a lot of talk about the dew affecting the bowlers later in the night. So, that also came in to the equation. The dew was there but it did not play as much of a part as was expected. We thought the wicket would play well throughout the game," Ponting said.
With India at 67-2, Australia looked like they were in control but Dhoni's 107-ball 124 changed the course of the game. "The wicket was good for batting and we were always scoring at around six an over so it was a good platform for me when I came in. We knew that even if we scored at five an over, we could get to a big score," Dhoni said.
