Captain Dhoni hails Delhi batsman for his match-winning 77 off 79 at Ranchi
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was pleased with the performance of his team in the third one-day International against England and the seven-wicket victory over the visitors was of utmost importance at the JSCA stadium here on Saturday. India take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
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Virat Kohli (inset) MS Dhoni. Pic/Getty Images
“It was of utmost importance to win this match. We did not let the opposition score too many runs which allowed us to have a comfortable chase. The wicket wasn’t exactly flat and the pacers had a bit of help as the ball was nipping around a bit. We did not get too many wickets at the start but we restricted them,” said Dhoni, who inaugurated the stadium along with Jharkhand governor Syed Ahmed.
“Gautam (Gambhir) and Yuvraj (Singh) played well. Both their innings’ were very important. Our new ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) and Shami (Ahmed) also performed really well. They have been consistent in the few matches they have played. Ishant (Sharma) is the most experienced pacer in our team and we keep him as the third bowler for that reason. Also, later he can generate good bounce because of his height. Overall I think this was a perfect performance,” added Dhoni.
“Virat (Kohli) played a superb innings. He has had a good patch. However, he did not score runs in the last 3-4 matches. The media sometimes rates that as being ‘out of form’ but I do not think that. When you are batting so well you have a few days when you don’t perform.”
“It was good to see how he placed his innings and how calculative he was, not being afraid to go for the big shots,” said the India skipper. u00a0Asked about his decision to come up the order at No 5, Dhoni said: “Suresh (Raina) was supposed to come in at No 5. He, however, asked me to go next and I agreed. Fortunately or unfortunately Yuvraj got out and I got a chance to get out in the middle,” said Dhoni.
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