Bridgetown, July 3: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni didn't hide his disappointed stating that his plan was “ruined due to the rain” that stopped play for around 32 minutes during the final session of the second Test against West Indies that ended in a draw.
”I am disappointed to some extent. The last session was evenly poised. My plan was ruined because of the rain, we got couple of wickets that were needed but bad light spoiled the party,” a dejected Dhoni stated at the post-match presentation ceremony.
About his decision to offer a sporting declaration, Dhoni said that he was confident that 280 was a defendable total.
”I thought 280 was enough in this venue since the outfield is slow which means you can add some 30 runs to the target. It was also not easy to play shots on this track.”
The Indian captain did admit that it was a difficult track to bat on first up.
”I think there was fair bit of moisture on the track on the first day. If we had bowled, we might have had bowled slightly fuller. Our bowlers have been really good in this series. Even though some of them have not taken wickets, they have put pressure on the batsmen,” he said.
The skipper was full of praise for Ishant Sharma. “He has bowled really well and in absence of Zaheer Khan has proved to be our main strike bowler.”
Ishant who had a match-haul of 10 for 108 was naturally elated after being adjudged man-of-the-match for his spectacular bowling.
”I can't forget this match as I have never bowled so well in a Test match. The wicket had uneven bounce but once you stuck to the right areas it yielded results,” Ishant said.
He also thanked Zaheer Khan for mentoring him. “I am thankful to Zak as his advice has helped me bowl well.”
Under pressure West Indian captain Darren Sammy was however happy that they had managed a draw in the Test match.
”I will take this result. As long as we didn't lose today, I was quite happy. We had a plan even down to the last 15 overs were on course but we lost too many wickets,” Sammy said.
He has always regretted the batting effort and this time also it was no different.
”It was a repetition of the first Test when we got them cheaply but couldn't surpass their score although Bravo and Baugh played well in the second innings,” the Caribbean skipper said.
The endeavour now will be to win the final Test and square the series.
”We have to go all out to win the Test. I can't fault the effort of our bowlers. Fidel got eight wickets and Rampaul also bowled well,” he stated. PTI
