The Hindu : Sport : Dhoni talks tough

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Dhoni talks tough

Special Correspondent

Dambulla: M.S. Dhoni, the Indian captain, might have made a good boxer; at the very least, he can talk the talk, evidenced when he said India’s three-wicket win in the second ODI signified that “we can look into the eye of the opponents and say if we play good cricket we can definitely beat you.” The 27-year-old, who directed a vital partnership of 60 for the sixth wicket, praised seamer Zaheer Khan’s control and debutant S. Badrinath’s nerve, adding that games like these fast-tracked the development of cricketers.

Gaining experience

“I’m losing my hair,” joked Dhoni, asked how he was handling the stress of rescuing India in chases. “It’s a pleasure to perform under pressure. Like Badrinath today, he had pressure, that’s (succeeding) what gives you confidence and experience.

“You don’t have to play a hundred games to get the experience of a hundred games. Twenty-five of these games give you the experience of 45 or 50.”

What did he make of Badrinath, whose single off Muttiah Muralitharan took India home? “Badri is very talented and that’s why he’s here,” said Dhoni. “He has performed very well on the domestic circuit and on ‘A’ tours. In his first game he had to play Murali and Mendis, and I thought he played them very well. He showed some character out there.”

Crucial partnership

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, said the partnership between Dhoni and Badrinath swung the game, when it was still open.

“The 60 runs they put on was probably the difference,” he said. “If we had taken another wicket, we would have opened up one end and probably created more opportunities. But Badrinath played well for a debutant.”

Asked where the game was lost, Jayawardene spoke of Zaheer’s spell with the new ball. “They bowled first on a wicket which assisted the seamers. Zak bowled really well up front and that’s his job to try and pick up wickets. That’s the difference, us losing four wickets for 10 runs, that’s not going to help the cause.”

Despite the low scores, Jayawardene had kind words for the wicket. “It’s a challenge for the batsmen. It’s no point playing on flat tracks and scoring 300 runs. You need to play on these kinds of wickets. It’s doing a bit with the new ball for a while and then it does settle in. Once you get in, it’s a very good wicket to bat on.”

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