New Delhi, Nov 9: India may have won the series-opener against the West Indies by a substantial margin, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni nevertheless was critical of his batsmen for lack of application in the first innings.
“If our batsmen see how they were out in the first innings they would think that they should not have been out and done much better. Considering the difficult pitch, a bit of application from the batsmen should have helped,” Dhoni said at the press conference after the five-wicket win over the West Indies here today.
Dhoni, who himself fell for a duck in the first innings, said the triumph could have been more satisfying had his batsmen shown more application in the first innings.
All India could manage was 209 in the first innings and consequently conceded a 95-run lead but came from behind to win the match with almost one-and-a-half day to spare.
“If we had the first innings lead it would have been a perfect start to the series. We did not do well in the first innings,” said Dhoni.
Dhoni also insisted that the much-criticised Kotla pitch was not a bad one but a surface “difficult in its own way”.
“Venue-wise, historically Kotla has been a difficult track but I don't think it was a bad wicket. It's a typical Kotla track which favours spin more. It's slow and low and difficult to score. It's difficult in its own way. I hope Kolkata will be different,” he said.
“There was nothing much for the batsmen as well as bowlers. Batsmen will have to work hard for runs while bowlers will have to be patient and bowl at right areas consistently. It's different from earlier tracks in only way that there was a bit of grass. On the third day you can see grass roots and it showed that the track would not break down,” said Dhoni.
