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Injury not serious: Dhoni

Special Correspondent

Dhoni pleased with Jadeja’s effort
Skipper says Balaji bowled well overall

Colombo: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who opted for a runner in the final stages of his innings, said the injury was not serious.

“It’s not the knee but the tendon behind the knee. I think I am okay,” he said here on Sunday. Talking about the last match of the series, he said, “It is important to win the series whether you win the last match or not. At the same time you should not miss an opportunity to give a chance to players who have not played so far.”

Testing bench strength

“The objective is to let them have a feel of international cricket. If they sit in the dressing room, it won’t help. It was a chance for us to test our bench strength,” the Indian skipper added.

On comeback man L. Balaji’s bowling, he said, “The situation was tough when Bala (Balaji) was bowling. He was bowling one change and there wasn’t much help from the wicket. But I think he bowled well overall.”

Dhoni was pleased with new boy Ravindra Jadeja’s effort. “Jadeja batted well and this is a good sign. Overall we need to groom players and that is a continual process.”

Team work

Dwelling on India’s series triumph, he said, “There is no secret behind our success, everybody is contributing at the right time and that is what is helping us. We do not rely on just one individual.”

He said the Indians lost too many wickets up front in the last game. “We lost a few wickets in the middle overs as well. It is tough to ask the tailenders to come and score some 150-odd runs in 20 overs.”

Dhoni said Sachin Tendulkar was rested in the last two games to give others an opportunity.

Speaking about Man-of-the-Series Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni said, “He is a very talented batsman and deserves his place in the Test side. One more plus point is his bowling. He is a brilliant fielder too.”

Playing to a plan

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene said there were a few positives for his side from the last game.

“We played to our plan batting first. Sanath (Jayasuriya) and Dilshan(Tillekeratne) gave us a really good start and from there onwards we created a platform on which we could accelerate. We managed to get 300 plus runs which is always a tough score to chase.

The Lankan bowlers finally delivered. “They were going for their shots so we managed to create opportunities and held onto the catches.”

Jayawardene revealed the team had been discussing the reasons for the earlier defeats. “Credit should also go to the Indians for the manner in which they played the third and fourth ODIs. Overall, we did not play to our potential in the series. Also, the fielding wasn’t up to scratch.”

The Sri Lankan skipper spoke about the Indian batting strength. “They have a long and good batting line-up. They also been playing consistent cricket.”

Coach blames batsmen

The team’s coach, Trevor Bayliss, disagreed with the chief of the selection panel, Ashantha de Mel, that the Lankan fielding standards had fallen.

He blamed the middle-order for the defeat in the series.

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