New Delhi, Mar 9: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said there are areas India needed to work on after his side's five-wicket win over the Netherlands in a Group B match of the cricket World Cup here today.
"Quite a few of the objectives have been achieved, but there are areas we need to improve. The powerplay overs, the lower order shouldn't have come in to finish this off. And fielding, we have been consistent," Dhoni said after India chased down the Netherland's target of 190 in 36.3 overs to register their third win of the tournament.
The India skipper reasoned that Ashish Nehra was replaced with Yusuf Pathan only after one over with the new ball owing to lack of assistance for fast bowlers at the Feroz Shah Kotla wicket.
"There was nothing really for fast bowlers with the new ball. The batsmen were just hitting through the infield. It's always better to use the spinners up front and use the fast bowlers later with the old ball."
Despite chasing a modest total, India, for the second successive time, faced some worrying moments before Yuvraj Singh led the way with an unbeaten fifty.
"Yuvraj batted brilliantly again," Dhoni said.
India's batting line-up is one of the most formidable in the tournament and Dhoni is pleased to have such an array of strokemakers in the side.
"They are the pick of our batting. We rely on good starts," he said when asked about Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
"We have got 2-3 batsmen who can attack the opposition, and also have 2-3 batsmen who can attack as well as defend, play according to the situation. It's a good mix," Dhoni said.
About the chase, he said "it's always challenging to chase a modest target against good opposition".
Piyush Chawla's place in the XI has been questioned by many but Dhoni seemed satisfied with the leg-spinner, who picked up two wickets today.
"Apart from the last over, he bowled well today. He needs a bit of confidence. We have seen patches of brilliance from him. He bowled well in the warm-up game," Dhoni said of the bowler.
India faced some worrying moments before reaching the modest target, but the skipper is happy as long as the team is winning. "If we are winning, I don't mind chasing or defending," he said.
Yuvraj, who got the Man-of-the-Match award, said he is happy to be performing after an injury-marred last year.
"Last year was full of injuries; I was coming in and going out. So I am happy to be back in form. My job is the play the middle overs and try to take the team to the end. I batted according to the situation," he said.
Asked about his bowling, Yuvraj said, "I have been bowling well. It feels nice to contribute, and nice to get ten Doeschate's wicket."
Rival captain Peter Borren praised his players for their fighting show against the world number 2.
"I am proud of my boys. Hats off to Pieter Seelaar, he won't forget tonight," he said of the bowler who picked up three wickets, including Tendulkar and Sehwag's.
"At 100 for 4, you never know, if we had sneaked a couple. To get back from the start given by Sehwag and Tendulkar to get it to 100 for 4.
"It came against a serious batting line-up. Two games that are coming up are big games for us. Tonight's performance will gives us confidence," Borren said.
About the track, he said, "the wicket was not easy to bat on. I think 220-230 would have been competitive." PTI
