Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Dambulla: Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday said he was a bit worried when India lost seven wickets while chasing a victory target of 143 and lauded debutant Subramaniam Badrinath for his responsible knock.

The following are excerpts:

On debutant Badrinath

Badri is very talented and that’s why he’s here. He has performed very well on the domestic circuit and on ‘A’ tours. It’s good to have him. It was his first game and he was under pressure, especially playing Murali and Mendis. I thought he played them very well. He took up the challenge, took the responsibility and scored those runs. He showed some character out there.

On Wednesday’s win

A win is a good habit to have. The morale goes up. You know you can deal with them, you had a good fight in the game. You can look into the eye of the opponents and say if we play good cricket we can definitely beat you.

His emotions when India were seven down

You are a bit worried because in these conditions it was reversing a bit, it was turning a bit, so it was tough. We had a batsman at only one end, so it was a concern till the match got over.

On rescuing India again

I’m losing my hair. It’s a pleasure to go out there and perform under pressure. That’s what you are supposed to do that at this level. You have that responsibility, you have that pressure, and people expect you to score, so it’s a privilege to have. You don’t have to play a hundred games to get the experience of a hundred games. Twenty-five of these games gives you the experience of 45 or 50 games.

On Sushil’s bronze medal win in wrestling

Another good day after Abhinav, it’s good to have a bronze in wrestling, and hope we win more. We will also win more games.

On the conditions for the bowlers

It’s really tough for the bowlers. The last two games have helped the seamers a bit. But in the Test series and most of the times in Sri Lanka, it’s not a bowler’s paradise. Dambulla gives assistance to the fast bowlers. It was turning but it’s not such that the spinners will run through a side. The credit should go to the bowlers.

The Dambulla wicket

This was a very deceptive wicket. I thought there was less grass, and perhaps it wouldn’t assist the seamers. But there was some help for the fast bowlers consistently. Even when their fast bowlers were bowling before the break they got some help. Then there was a break of 40 minutes, and you can say the wicket dried up.

On MoM Zaheer Khan’s bowling

He has been consistent with the ball throughout. I’ve played for the last four years and I have seen him bowl like this before. He has moved far ahead when it comes to his fielding as well. Bowling-wise he bowled well in England also. When you give him the ball, you know a hundred per cent is coming out of him.

Gautam Gambhir’s condition

We’ll see what happens with Gautam. He’s got a stiff neck, but we have three more days. So hopefully he’ll be fine before that.