Bangalore: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Team India captain, had an interaction with the media in general, on Wednesday afternoon, and then took some questions exclusively from The Telegraph.
The following are excerpts
Whether the seven-wicket win over Australia is the most memorable in the two years that he has been the Test captain
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| Mahendra Singh Dhoni |
Can’t pick one ahead of the other... The same goes for ODIs... But the fact is that Australia are a good side.
Reflecting on the Chinnaswamy victoryBy losing tosses I don’t help the bowlers... It wasn’t a turning track, but was slow and the balls kept low... The bowlers did a very good job... A target of 207 wouldn’t be seen as big, but a start was still needed. Had a few wickets gone early, then panic would’ve set in. The scorecard may suggest it was easy, but there was some tension and a bit of nervousness in the dressing room.
A clean sweep, 2-0
It’s easy when it’s a two-match series only... It could get difficult if it involves three or four Tests.
His first series win after marriage
(Laughs) Yes, hadn’t thought of it.
If wife Sakshi made a trip to the Chinnaswamy
I did ask her to come on one of the days, at least, but she preferred to stay in the hotel. We do talk cricket, but never in any detail.
Thoughts on Sachin Tendulkar, Man of the Match and the Man of the Series
What do I say? God has made Sachin for cricket... I can’t put it better... We know he’s so talented, but we must also appreciate the amount of work he has put in from such a young age... He continues to work so hard, doesn’t take anything for granted.
Areas he’d been looking to exploit
Wanted to put pressure on Australia’s middle order and the lower middle order.
Promoting debutant Cheteshwar Pujara to the No.3 position and dropping regular Rahul Dravid to No.5, on Wednesday
We (the team management) wanted an experienced player down the order, after Sachin at No.4... Had Rahul come at his usual position, then it would’ve been (the inexperienced) Suresh Raina and Pujara after Sachin... Also, we thought the Australians may be taken by surprise and attack Pujara, which they did... He got the chance to play his shots... Instead of feeling the pressure, Pujara took it up as a challenge.
Whether Pujara was given time to mentally prepare himself
He was told about it before we began our second innings... He was up for it. Of course, we (the team management) had a discussion in the morning itself.
Pujara making a mark on his debut
The good thing is that the younger players (too) are performing... Murali Vijay, for example, got past the 100-barrier... Pujara realised that if he performed today, it would be remembered. It’s a learning curve for everybody.
Australians getting a taste of their own medicine — seeing the opposition chase down the target rather comfortably
Well, we got partnerships going... That was needed.
[Vijay and Pujara put on 72 for the second wicket, the third wicket partnership between Pujara and Sachin was worth 57 and, then, Sachin and Dravid took India to victory with an unbroken stand of 61 for the fourth wicket.]
Crowd support at the Chinnaswamy
Support helps and the crowd was remarkable... That’s why, as a token of our appreciation, we did a lap of honour... We’re used to playing in front of 30,000-40,000 fans in the ODIs and in the IPL and we’d like the same support in Tests... One needs motivation... We’re like performers in a circus, but the circus must be full... (Laughs) This should be taken in the right sense, though.
Whether India can dominate Test cricket like Australia did till recently
Would depend on one basic — playing good cricket... It would be nice if we could have a bigger pool of fast bowlers and spinners to pick from.
Finally, on the ODI series, which begins on Sunday
Australia and India are the top teams... Both, however, have rested some of the big players... It should be interesting.
