'Jadeja should just look to hit the fast bowlers'
MS Dhoni spoke to the media after India's victory at Lord's
ESPNcricinfo staff
21-Jul-2014
Excerpts from MS Dhoni's press conference after India's 95-run win against England at Lord's.
How satisfying is this after Johannesburg and Wellington?
It is a result of hard work and effort of the team. I felt in the last couple of series outside India we were in a position to seal victories in one game each in both places, but somehow we were not able to do that. I felt the bowlers put in great efforts in both matches. What was important was to keep working hard. Keep giving the same kind of preparation and thinking into the game. And because of that we have sealed the first game for this team. It was fantastic to see the kind of effort and determination from this team.
It is a result of hard work and effort of the team. I felt in the last couple of series outside India we were in a position to seal victories in one game each in both places, but somehow we were not able to do that. I felt the bowlers put in great efforts in both matches. What was important was to keep working hard. Keep giving the same kind of preparation and thinking into the game. And because of that we have sealed the first game for this team. It was fantastic to see the kind of effort and determination from this team.
How does it compare with Durban where you won in similar seaming conditions?
I don't believe in comparison. Not as if I have 50-60 Test wins to look back at. Every Test is special for its own reason, every innings or hundred or fifty is special in its own way. If you see, the team or the 18 from back then, almost the entire team is different. Just in that way it is very special. It was a Test match where there was a lot of pressure on us. Lost a crucial toss and had to fight hard for those first one-two hours when there was moisture on the wicket. I felt that the openers did that with the No. 3 batsman and then we scored runs, and Bhuvi bowled well in the first innings and Ishant in the second innings.
I don't believe in comparison. Not as if I have 50-60 Test wins to look back at. Every Test is special for its own reason, every innings or hundred or fifty is special in its own way. If you see, the team or the 18 from back then, almost the entire team is different. Just in that way it is very special. It was a Test match where there was a lot of pressure on us. Lost a crucial toss and had to fight hard for those first one-two hours when there was moisture on the wicket. I felt that the openers did that with the No. 3 batsman and then we scored runs, and Bhuvi bowled well in the first innings and Ishant in the second innings.
How does it feel to win at Lord's?
Don't know how exactly it feels. It will be my last Test at Lord's. Don't see myself coming back here in I don't know how many years. Definitely a memorable Test match. Have had close Tests here. Still remember 2007 series where we drew the match because of bad light, and me and Sreesanth were batting at that time. We saved that Test and went on to be victorious in that series. Every match is special and it's great to win Test matches outside India. Being Lord's, yes very special. But at the same time every Test match is special.
Don't know how exactly it feels. It will be my last Test at Lord's. Don't see myself coming back here in I don't know how many years. Definitely a memorable Test match. Have had close Tests here. Still remember 2007 series where we drew the match because of bad light, and me and Sreesanth were batting at that time. We saved that Test and went on to be victorious in that series. Every match is special and it's great to win Test matches outside India. Being Lord's, yes very special. But at the same time every Test match is special.
You spoke about Johannesburg and Wellington. What lessons have you leanred from there? Did you think of those Tests when you went almost the entire first session without a wicket? Did you do things differently?
For me the process is important. That is the reason why I can forget the past. So we cannot think about the past that we didn't do this or that. Yes there was pressure on us because with 200 runs needed we knew there will certainly be a winner in this game. Who the winner will be we were not sure. We had a fantastic chance to win this Test at the start of play today. Cricket is a great leveller and in the first session we didn't get any wickets till the last ball was bowled. It showed us that you have to be at the top of your game. Because once the opposition gets an opening they will make sure that they make most out of it. They had a very good partnership going. Once we got a wicket we made sure we put pressure on opposition.
For me the process is important. That is the reason why I can forget the past. So we cannot think about the past that we didn't do this or that. Yes there was pressure on us because with 200 runs needed we knew there will certainly be a winner in this game. Who the winner will be we were not sure. We had a fantastic chance to win this Test at the start of play today. Cricket is a great leveller and in the first session we didn't get any wickets till the last ball was bowled. It showed us that you have to be at the top of your game. Because once the opposition gets an opening they will make sure that they make most out of it. They had a very good partnership going. Once we got a wicket we made sure we put pressure on opposition.
Did England's struggles playing the short ball against Australia and Sri Lanka convince you that you could use it too?
If you compare our bowling with the Australian attack we have very different bowlers. We don't have many bowlers who can bounce like that. If I was Mitchell Johnson I won't bowl up ever. I don't care who the batsman is. Ishant is someone who can do that. Can't ask Bhuvi to bowl that. Even Shami can bowl quick, but he doesn't get a lot of bounce off the wicket. We just wanted to exploit conditions and throw a challenge to them and see what they do: duck or play shots. In this case we were lucky and it worked in our favour. Some days they will not play any shots and it wont work in your favour.
If you compare our bowling with the Australian attack we have very different bowlers. We don't have many bowlers who can bounce like that. If I was Mitchell Johnson I won't bowl up ever. I don't care who the batsman is. Ishant is someone who can do that. Can't ask Bhuvi to bowl that. Even Shami can bowl quick, but he doesn't get a lot of bounce off the wicket. We just wanted to exploit conditions and throw a challenge to them and see what they do: duck or play shots. In this case we were lucky and it worked in our favour. Some days they will not play any shots and it wont work in your favour.
What do you make of Jadeja's approach?
Jadeja is very talented. At times he feels pressure. What's important is that he gets a few innings like this. Going forward he will start feeling more confident. And maybe you will see a change in his approach. Still I think the number where he bats he has to score quickly, look for runs. Irrespective of how he plays, quite a few batsmen lower down the order score many more runs playing aggressive cricket rather than just surviving in the middle. He should just look to go in and hit the fast bowlers. What we have seen is, once he attacks he gets into much better positions to play his strokes.
Jadeja is very talented. At times he feels pressure. What's important is that he gets a few innings like this. Going forward he will start feeling more confident. And maybe you will see a change in his approach. Still I think the number where he bats he has to score quickly, look for runs. Irrespective of how he plays, quite a few batsmen lower down the order score many more runs playing aggressive cricket rather than just surviving in the middle. He should just look to go in and hit the fast bowlers. What we have seen is, once he attacks he gets into much better positions to play his strokes.
Did Ishant bowl through pain or a niggle? He was on his haunches when he got Root's wicket
Ishant had a very long spell by then and we needed to get one more wicket at that stage. What I told him is, that I am happy to give you bowling and a chance to get eight wickets but at the same time if you have the slightest of the niggle - and by niggle I meant was even the slightest pain in any part of the body - then it is better you don't bowl the next over because I don't want you to get injured. Also from outside it doesn't look hot, but it was very humid and you tend to lose a lot of fluid and that can lead to injuries. The fluids work as coolant in the body, without a coolant the engine seizes.
Ishant had a very long spell by then and we needed to get one more wicket at that stage. What I told him is, that I am happy to give you bowling and a chance to get eight wickets but at the same time if you have the slightest of the niggle - and by niggle I meant was even the slightest pain in any part of the body - then it is better you don't bowl the next over because I don't want you to get injured. Also from outside it doesn't look hot, but it was very humid and you tend to lose a lot of fluid and that can lead to injuries. The fluids work as coolant in the body, without a coolant the engine seizes.
Please talk us through your move to stand back to Jadeja.
I actually wanted to have a fielder there, but according to the rules of the game you can't have three fielders there [behind square on the leg side]. I wanted Virat to stand slightly wide of where he was standing because anything like a snick or a faint edge on the leg side would go between him and me. So the plan was to stand behind and cover that. But if the batsmen keep stepping out to play, I would have had to go back up. They didn't really step out so I had the liberty of standing back. The good thing was, they didn't really step out and miss one because that would have been a perfect thing for the commentators to talk about. The game has really changed, and it is more about what suits that point of time. I don't think in the old days, there are quite a few journalists from olden times, and they might not have seen deep-square leg, fine leg and deep midwicket, short leg and midwicket and bowl bouncers. Earlier, one short leg was enough to bowl bouncers.
I actually wanted to have a fielder there, but according to the rules of the game you can't have three fielders there [behind square on the leg side]. I wanted Virat to stand slightly wide of where he was standing because anything like a snick or a faint edge on the leg side would go between him and me. So the plan was to stand behind and cover that. But if the batsmen keep stepping out to play, I would have had to go back up. They didn't really step out so I had the liberty of standing back. The good thing was, they didn't really step out and miss one because that would have been a perfect thing for the commentators to talk about. The game has really changed, and it is more about what suits that point of time. I don't think in the old days, there are quite a few journalists from olden times, and they might not have seen deep-square leg, fine leg and deep midwicket, short leg and midwicket and bowl bouncers. Earlier, one short leg was enough to bowl bouncers.