Dhoni led a run chase that looked to be getting out of hand at one point in the match when 4 wickets fell quickly and the run rate soared to above 8 an over. But master chaser Dhoni and his partner set it right in time. The skipper spoke about this and a whole lot of other things that happened in the match against Zimbabwe. Excerpts:
On the tough game against Zimbabwe
It couldn’t have been better. If you get an easy win in the last league game, you don’t get a lot out of that game. What was good was the spinners were put under pressure, and we lost quick wickets initially. That put our middle and lower-middle order under pressure, so we gained a lot out of it. Winning, of course, was very important, but the knock by Raina was very crucial coming at No. 5. More often than not you get in to bat after the 38th over if your top-order is batting well and you’ve to slog it out, so you play the big shot, you get out, you don’t score too many runs… when you get into the knockout stages you want to have runs under your belt. It doesn’t matter how many runs, but once you get going, it just gives you that good feeling, which’s important in the knockout stages.
On concern around Ravindra Jadeja
It’s a bit of a concern, but Jadeja hasn’t got much chances to bat. It’s not easy to get in and over here. He has bowled decently well in patches. He’s improving, and overall, he’s a key ingredient because he gives us hope. We’ve put in a lot of effort and time in him since the last World Cup. He’s been a regular part of the team, and he has actually done really well for us. I’m quite happy with the way he’s bowling. I won’t really consider today’s game because both Ashwin and him went for shorter boundaries, and Taylor took them on. Overall, quite happy with how Jadeja has bowled but if got a chance to bat it would’ve made it slightly easy for him, but you can’t really have control over that.
On when he starts taking risks in a chase
It’s important to narrow the margin — the number of deliveries to the number of runs. At times when you’ve wickets in hand you try to relate to an IPl scenario. What’s a good difference I would say that’s our theory. If you’re matching that, you’re in a good position and then you’ve to see which bowler is bowling well, who you can target. So it’s a mixture of everything. It sounds very complex, but when you’re in those circumstances, it’s a situation that really works out and you don’t have to put in a lot of thinking into it. The brain keeps ticking. It’s just that you’ve to communicate well with the other batsmen.
Pressure around QF away from home
We always have the same kind of pressure. Irrespective of which team we play or which tournament we play, we’re under pressure. The good thing is that the boys are quite used to it. There’ve been instances when we’re down, but we’ve come back strongly and done well. There may not be too many people in the team who’ve played 250 games, but the fluctuation in our performance in the last few years, including the Tests, just pushes the guys to new ways of dealing with pressure.
On hitting a six on last ball
I wasn’t planning to hit. It’s just a reflex that takes over and also by that time I was quite set. I had played a few deliveries and got my time in the middle. Also the fact that we had too many batsmen left with only five or six runs. If it’s there you hit it because you don’t really have that pressure of thinking whether the guys coming after you will be able to score five or six runs or not. Once you’re that close, at times you take that chance.
On how difficult is it to take it as one game in the knockouts
It’s quite easy to deal with as we’ve the experience. We’ve played in Champions Trophy and we’ve done well, and it’s almost the same side. The guys know they’ve to lift their game. As you go into the tournament you keep stressing this because these are situations where you’ve to win that 50/50 scenario without a second chance. The guys will be well-equipped when it comes to the communication part of handling the situation.
On how ODIs have changed since 2011 and 300-plus scores being made
That’s the reason why I keep saying we need to have that extra fielder outside because a lot of innovations have come into the game. You need to credit the kind of players who play those shots, but also you need to push the players who’ve that power game as that was the key ingredient in the last World Cup, to have people who can clear big boundaries. What’s important is that one fielder when he’s outside, takes that catch. Now with him not being there, there are drops here and there and all of a sudden you see the batsman timing a lot of deliveries. With two new balls it doesn’t really get too old to get reverse swing going. These are the difficulties that bowlers are facing.
On Rohit Sharma
If the opposition hasn’t scored too many runs, the openers can’t either. We need to see what kind of a start they give. I feel Rohit has batted really well so far. He looks quite calm and composed, and at the same time he’s playing the shots really well. That’s the key. It’s not always about the runs. We’ve seen batsmen who are playing really well but they’ve not scored runs, and all of a sudden you see a game where they score really big and they come back. So it’s not really being out of form. What’s important is to spend time in the middle, and I think Rohit has done enough of that.