'I knew that even 350 might not be enough' - Dhoni
At the post-match press conference Sourav Ganguly expressed satisfactionwith India's win, saying that a 2-0 lead in the series would really putthe pressure on Pakistan going into the third game at Jamshedpur
Chandrahas Choudhury in Visakhapatnam
05-Apr-2005
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At the post-match press conference Sourav Ganguly expressed satisfaction
with India's win, saying that a 2-0 lead in the series would really put
the pressure on Pakistan going into the third game at Jamshedpur. He also
said he was pleased that the move to send in Mahendra Singh Dhoni at No. 3 had
paid off so spectacularly.
"When I looked at the wicket in the morning it looked like it would
crumble quite quickly, and might not even be good for batting for the
first 50 overs," Ganguly said. "So the toss was absolutely crucial, and
once we won it, it was important that we made as many runs as possible in
the first 15 overs. That's why we made the decision to send Dhoni in and he played fantastically well."
Dhoni said he had been told by the team management that he might get an
opportunity at No. 3 at some point in the series, and that he had been
preparing for this in the nets. He said that the position was the one in
which he felt the most comfortable anyway because he opens the batting or
bats at No.3 in first-class cricket. Of his spectacular hitting after he
got to his hundred, Dhoni remarked, "After I got to a hundred I felt it
was important to push the scoring as much as possible so that we could
make about 350. The ball was not doing anything off the pitch and I knew
that even a score of 350 might not be enough."
Chandrahas Choushury is a staff writer with Wisden Asia Cricket.