Dhoni's interview on Hamilton victory

[jf1gp_1]

It was a great win for us; Indian team looked so far ahead NZ team that the margin of defeat seemed right. But while going through the final scorecard i started looking at the individuals that make this NZ team. Martin Guptill was on debut but didnt bat like a batsman on debut. Looks a very good and mature batsman and though he might be on the losing side has had a great start to his international career. Had IPL bidding happened after India-NA series Jesse ryder would have gone for 6 to 8 times more than what he got now. He has been impressive and a match winner. Ross taylor, mccullum , vettori all are fantastic ODI and test players. both Mills and Taylor are having bad series but they are good players infact mills is supposed to tbe no 3 bowler going by what some commentrator said Daniel Flynn looked good in second innings; i dont know much abt mcintosh but he is supposed to be good. O brien bowled a nice spell in second innings. They were outplayed but i also see match winners; its a young team , couple of yrs from now ,with a little exp this NZ team could turn into a really good one and i think that is what wright is trying to do.

[fineleg]

They need to find a stable opening batsmen pair, and bowling needs Shane Bond

[cowboysfan]

It was a great win for us; Indian team looked so far ahead NZ team that the margin of defeat seemed right. But while going through the final scorecard i started looking at the individuals that make this NZ team. Martin Guptill was on debut but didnt bat like a batsman on debut. Looks a very good and mature batsman and though he might be on the losing side has had a great start to his international career. Had IPL bidding happened after India-NA series Jesse ryder would have gone for 6 to 8 times more than what he got now. He has been impressive and a match winner. Ross taylor, mccullum , vettori all are fantastic ODI and test players. both Mills and Taylor are having bad series but they are good players infact mills is supposed to tbe no 3 bowler going by what some commentrator said Daniel Flynn looked good in second innings; i dont know much abt mcintosh but he is supposed to be good. O brien bowled a nice spell in second innings. They were outplayed but i also see match winners; its a young team , couple of yrs from now ,with a little exp this NZ team could turn into a really good one and i think that is what wright is trying to do.

what has Wright got to do with it?

[Chandan]

Dhoni's interview on Hamilton victory Sachin, Bhajji special: Dhoni - TEN-WICKET VICTORY OVER NEW ZEALAND IN FIRST TEST ENDS 33-YEAR WAIT A CORRESPONDENT Hamilton: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was understandably delighted with the historic 10-wicket victory over New Zealand here Saturday. It was India’s first win in the country in 33 years. Speaking on the win, Dhoni termed the win a team effort but said the contributions of Harbhajan Singh, who took six wickets for 63 runs in New Zealand’s second innings, and Sachin Tendulkar, swung the match in India’s favour. The following are excerpts How would he compare this win to the other wins as captain? Why do you always have to compare things? I don’t believe in comparisons. It is very special, I haven’t been to New Zealand before. It was my first Test match here. This will be very special because of a couple of players — Sachin getting a big hundred, Harbhajan getting five against New Zealand. We were talking about it last night, he wanted to get it and I’m glad that he got it the next day. If New Zealand’s meek surrender in the second innings surprised him It’s not about getting surprised because that’s what you want your team to do, get the opposition out cheaply. Our bowlers’ efforts were great. I felt there was not much in the wicket for the bowlers after the first session. After that, it was just grit and determination that got us the wickets. Spell after spell, they were all eager to bowl. They maintained the ball well, they bowled in the right areas and created the right opportunities. I feel if they can do it game after game, it will be very good for us. Maybe the New Zealand team was below par but you want the opposition to be below par. On Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh You want to win, whether Sachin is a part of it or Sachin is not a part of it. Of course, it’s great to play with him. And if he can contribute to wins, that will be more important for us. But definitely, the way he played, it is a pleasure to see him bat. Whenever he scores those big hundreds, you can’t see anything better. The way he paced his innings, there was a phase when the New Zealand bowlers were bowling well. He didn’t take too many risks at that point of time and later on he capitalised on that. Once he was over that 80-run mark, he was getting boundaries at will. I don’t think there was any bad delivery that wasn’t hit for a four. That was good. Everybody contributed. Three batsmen got fifties, lower down the order, Zaheer Khan also chipped in. That was important for us because if we wanted to win the game, it was important for us to take a big lead because it seemed like a good batting track. There was a bit for the spinners and Harbhajan proved why he is among the best. He got us those important wickets at the right time. Overall, a good team effort. Of course, Sachin and Harbhajan were the two who looked very different and performed exceedingly well. Why was Harbhajan so successful? In the first innings, if you see the approach of the New Zealand batsmen, they were not very aggressive against him. Although there was not much help for the spinner, they still didn’t go after him. That was good for us, they don’t want to take risks against Harbhajan Singh. Once you allow a bowler of his calibre to be on top of you, then more often than not, he will either get wickets or he will do the containing job, which is as good in Test matches. If you can contain batsmen at one end, it really puts pressure at the other end. I feel it will be important to see him through throughout the Test series because he is the kind of bowler who can wreak havoc once he starts getting wickets. On Munaf Patel He bowled well. We didn’t want Munaf to bowl longer spells, we didn’t want him to bowl an eight or nine-over spell like Ishant or Zaheer. He is more of a short spell quick who may get three to four overs but he has to be at his best when it comes to pace, specially because the wicket was quite flat. We wanted him to bowl in the right areas, to bowl with a bit of pace and be consistent with line and length. That’s what he did. I’m quite happy with his performance. On the decision to field first There was a lot of talk going around about whether to bat first or bowl first. But we felt it was a very good track to bat on, so whatever would be there for the seamers would be for the first couple of hours. We took that gamble. Had the bowlers not taken those six early wickets, I would have looked like a fool but they made it a point to make the best use of the opportunity that was given to them. Overall, I’m quite happy with the decision because it paid off. The reasons behind the team’s success in the Test We were consistent right through the Test match, and that’s what is important. Test cricket is all about winning session after session. It’s not about winning one day’s play or winning a few sessions. When it came to bowling or batting, that’s what we did. One batsman who was set, Sachin, played a long innings and the rest of the batsmen played around him which helped us to get a big lead. It’s always difficult in Test matches if the opposition gets a 200 or 250-run lead with three days of play left. It’s tough to handle the mental pressure more than anything else. How are the seniors feeling about the win? It’s a great feeling. Specially for guys whose career span is more than 10 years. They have played at venues all over the world. If it’s a first win for them, definitely it can’t get better but hopefully we can the series. That will be great. One of the first milestones we have achieved in this series is to win a game and take the lead. But now, it’s important to play the same kind of cricket in the second and the third Tests, too. If we can win the series, that will be the best gift the team can give to guys like Sachin and Rahul (Dravid). If there is pressure on him as captain There is no pressure on you. If everyone is doing his job responsibly, then there is no pressure on the captain. In a difficult situation, some individual or the other steps up and performs, that’s great. We don’t rely on individuals. We are doing well as a team. As captain, your job becomes very easy. On Rahul Dravid opening in the second innings instead of Virender Sehwag Viru, because of some reasons, was out of the ground while fielding. So he couldn’t have batted for nine or 10 minutes at the start. If there is still something to worry about The time for retirement, maybe. I have always said this — I have got a great team, more than anything else. Each and every individual is doing his job. We enjoy each other’s success, we help each other a lot, on and off the field. We create an environment where every individual feels comfortable. We give the best facilities so that the cricketer can perform and that is what is the asset of the side. We have a good mixture of guys who have plenty of experience, guys who are youngsters, who want to perform, who are very talented. That’s what is helping the side. We take pride in whatever we do. If we continue to do that, there will be plenty of good things that will happen to us.

[graphic23]

Excellent interview. Honest. To the point.

[cochise]

If there is still something to worry about The time for retirement, maybe.

He also has a sense of humour. :--D

[The Outsider]

The time for retirement, maybe. I have always said this — I have got a great team, more than anything else. Each and every individual is doing his job. We enjoy each other’s success, we help each other a lot, on and off the field. We create an environment where every individual feels comfortable. We give the best facilities so that the cricketer can perform and that is what is the asset of the side. We have a good mixture of guys who have plenty of experience, guys who are youngsters, who want to perform, who are very talented. That’s what is helping the side. We take pride in whatever we do. If we continue to do that, there will be plenty of good things that will happen to us.

This is the crux of the difference between Indian teams of the 80s and 90s and the ones of this decade. There was a lot of talent in those sides as well but consistent team performances were missing possibly because there was not the ideal team atmosphere. Dhoni, obviously deserves credit for this but I have always felt the entire process was initiated by the core group of Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble, Ganguly, and Laxman a decade or so back. It's great to see that atmosphere being strengthened in the current team.

[nikred]

He also has a sense of humour. :--D

He always makes tongue-in-cheek comments.:icflove: