Surprised by turn in pitch: Dhoni

Surprised by the amount of turn his spinners managed to extract from the pitch in the third ODI win against England, India captain MS Dhoni said they will have to work on delivering similar performances on tracks which may not be as helpful.

‘There are a few areas where there is still a bit of concern. We still need to work on bowling, especially on wickets where there is no turn and spinners are not that much effective. If you don’t take wickets in the middle overs it really puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers,’ Dhoni said after India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

R Ashwin took 3-39 while Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu took a wicket each to help India beat England by six wickets after the hosts collapsed from 82/0 to 227 all out.

‘I was surprised by how much it turned. That really brought out spinners into the game. I felt Suresh Raina’s spell was crucial because Mohit Sharma got injured and we were not really sure whether he would come back and bowl the seven overs he had to bowl. So I had to get those seven overs from the part-timers. I am happy Raina and Ambati Rayudu contributed more than the seven overs and there was less pressure on me,’ he said. 

India chased down the 228-run target with seven overs to spare. It was a good day in the field for Rayudu who not only picked his maiden ODI wicket when Dhoni stumped Alastair Cook but also remained unbeaten on 64 while batting at number four, in place of Ajinkya Rahane who opened the innings after Rohit Sharma’s injury.

‘We have to judge people under different scenarios and under pressure what they do, if they are supposed to play freely and how they do play,’ said Dhoni, talking about the different situations facing his batsmen.

‘Overall it looks like a good team. If you look at the batting order itself, it is a fantastic one. If Rohit Sharma gets fit at the top of the order or if he is batting in the middle it is looking good,’ he added.

India cannot lose this series now after the first ODI in Bristol was washed away. There are two more games remaining in the series, at Birmingham on September 2 and then at Leeds on September 5.

‘It was a fantastic performance by the whole team. Apart from bowling, the fielding was brilliant too. 

Ian Bell’s wicket at that point of time was very crucial and Raina’s catch in the slips was fantastic. Those are the things really help you lift as a team,’ said Dhoni.

‘Raina also bowled well and he gave us the first breakthrough. Rayudu also got a wicket. Both of them took us through in the run chase later on,’ Dhoni added.

The Indian skipper also said Rayudu could be in contention for the number four slot in the ODI team. ‘Rayudu did very well, we are still looking for a number four batsman and there are a few out there.’

Asked about Virat Kohli who put himself in with a 40 but failed to convert it to a big score, Dhoni said a big knock could be in the offing from the Delhi batsman very soon.

‘Virat is in a bad patch but he is an aggressive player who has the fighter’s attitude. He has been middling the balls and it is only that he could not convert the starts into big ones. I can say a big knock is around the corner from Virat,’ said Dhoni.

Man-of-the-Match Ashwin said the time he had by sitting out in the first three matches of the Test series which preceded the ODI contests had given him time to work on his bowling. ‘The downtime gave me some time to work on my bowling. I thought the wicket (on Sunday) had some bounce, it was good to bowl on. Me and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) have a good record against England which is a real help. I thought Suresh Raina’s catch off my bowling was superb. It was going for four but he plucked it out,’ he said.