321 was a par score on this wicket, says MS Dhoni

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rued his team’s batting failure on a good wicket to lose the first one-dayer against the West Indies by 124 runs here but said that the visiting side were a tough team to beat. Dhoni said that a target of 322 for a win on a batting pitch at the Nehru Stadium was gettable. “It was a par score but it was a good wicket to bat on. At the start of the match if we were given 320-odd we should have got it,” Dhoni said after India suffered one of their heaviest defeats at home in the opening ODI of the five-match series.

He said but for some good bowling in the last few overs by the Indians, the West Indies total could have been bigger. “Last few overs we bowled well to restrict them,” he added. Asked about the opposition team, Dhoni said, “They bat really deep and have six bowlers with a part-timer. They have spinners, quick bowlers and are a balanced side. West Indies are a fantastic side.” He said in modern international cricket, players from different countries know each others’ strong and weak points because of frequent playing together and also due to technology. “(West Indies captain) Dwayne Bravo and I know each other well. But with technology as well we can spot the weaknesses and do analysis of the opponents easily these days,” said Dhoni. Bravo credited the win to team effort though he offered special praise to Marlon Samuels for his match-winning unbeaten 126. “It was a great team effort, credit to entire team especially to Samuels coming back to ODI team. Credit to the stand between him and Ramdin and the bowlers as well,” he said. “I hope (Lendl) Simmons is fit for the next match but I’m ready to open for the team. It’s well and good till we keep winning.” Man-of-the-Match Samuels expressed happiness for coming good after missing out on cricket for a while. “After some injuries and surgery I didn’t play much, got some form in CPL but didn’t play much. I lost my coach also, so I dedicate this to him. “Ramdin is in good nick for the last year and he’s been batting well. The communication and running between us went well between us.”