Bowlers eased early nerves: MS Dhoni by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	SR Tendulkar, MS Dhoni
Event:	Compaq Cup 2009

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DateLine: 12th September 2009

 

Indian skipper MS Dhoni hailed the ability of his players to handle their early nerves which enabled them to secure a six-wicket victory over New Zealand.

 

After New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss in the second game of the triangular one-day series, his batsmen failed in conditions which have suited the team batting first in recent games.

 

The wrecker-in-chief for the Indians were left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra and occasional left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh. Both claimed three wickets apiece as the New Zealanders were bowled out for a meagre 155 runs inside 47 overs.

 

India too lost an early wicket, but Sachin Tendulkar steadied nerves with a brisk 46, while Dhoni (35 not out) and Suresh Raina (45 not out) put on an unbroken 72-run stand for the fifth wicket to complete a successful chase with just under 10 overs to spare.

 

"It's fair to say we were a little nervous," Dhoni said.

 

"If you are not tense on the day of the game, more often than not it suggests you are not really prepared for the game.

 

"But with the kind of start the bowlers gave us, we knew we were up for it."

 

Dhoni also spoke about the toss which was supposed to be very crucial considering the history of the pitch and its recent behaviour in day-night matches.

 

"When we lost the toss we did not expect the wicket to behave the way it did," Dhoni said.

 

"Right from the start it looked more like a second-innings wicket with the ball not coming onto the bat and the spinners getting considerable turn.

 

"We knew the wicket could not get much worse than that and the plan was to get New Zealand out as cheaply as possible.

 

"Nehra gave us early breakthroughs and Yuvraj picked up crucial wickets.

 

"Sachin gave us a good start with the bat and chasing such a low total you only needed a couple of partnerships to see you through."

(Article: Copyright © 2009 Cricket Scotland http://www.cricketeurope.org/SCOTLAND/home.shtml)