Dhoni hints Indian batsmen could have put up a better performance at Lord's
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday indirectly hinted that his team's famed batting line-up could have put in a better performance in the first of four Tests against England at Lord's to wrest the initiative from the hosts.
He said that the uneven bounce on the pitch on Monday had troubled his batsmen. He also said that he was forced to change his batting order because some of his key batters were injured or had taken ill during the match.
For instance, he said that Rahul Dravid, who normally bats at number three, had to open in the second innings because of an elbow injury to regular opener Gautam Gambhir.
Sachin Tendulkar, he said, had to remain off the field for most of the fourth day of the match, as he had viral fever, and because of ICC rules, had to come in at number five instead of at his usual slot of number four.
"For the batsman in a sense, most of the batsmen were batting at different slots, which they are not used to, you know, Rahul (Rahul Dravid) did opening, Sachin batted at a different number, Gautam (Gautam Gambhir) at a different number, so I think that also added pressure. I felt, you know, most of the things that could have gone wrong in the game, it really went wrong. So, I think it was tough for the bowlers and the batsmen at same time," said Dhoni.
He also justified Tendulkar's show in the match.
"He (Sachin Tendulkar, ace batsman) was much better, I wouldn't say he was like 100 per cent fit, but both the innings, he really felt it, specially after the first innings, he felt quite weak, that was one of the main reasons he didn't turn up on the field to do the fielding in the first half of the second innings. So, he is much better right now, but of course, not 100 per cent," said Dhoni.
Dhoni praised his fast bowlers, including Praveen Kumar and promised to improve the team's performance in the upcoming tests.
For India, V.V.S.Laxman and Suresh Raina scored half-centuries in the second innings, and were the only batters to take the fight into the England camp. The others got starts, but failed to take it beyond to a ensure a respectable draw at least.
Dhoni, also said that the loss of his leading strike bowler Zaheer Khan with a hamstring injury on the opening day had been crucial to the match result.
The teams have only three days off before the second test begins at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday. The third is scheduled for Edgbaston and the series concludes at the Oval.
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