Dhoni hails Sachin's knock by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

---

Player:	SR Tendulkar, MS Dhoni
Event:	Australia in India 2009/10

---

DateLine: 6th November 2009

 

Indian skipper MS Dhoni said that had it not been for Sachin Tendulkar's 175, the hosts would have never come anywhere close to a sensational victory against Australia.

 

"Three or four of our top batsmen did not score but still we came close to the target. Sachin Tendulkar played very well and he was one man who brought us close to a win. But even after he left we did not lose hopes till the end," said Dhoni about Tendulkar's fabulous knock which was studded with 19 fours and four sixes.

 

Dhoni said though this was a special innings from the champion batsman, his personal favourite was the Desert Storm in Sharjah against Australia in April 1998.

 

"It was a pleasure to see him batting so well. All his centuries have been special and this too. But I am still a big fan of his desert storm (innings)," he said.

 

The Indian skipper said that it was in the mind that India lost the game.

 

"We lost the mental aspect and not the cricketing part of the match. Chasing 350 was always going to be difficult even on this wicket which played very well," he said after India lost a heart-stopper to Australia to give the visitors a 2-3 lead in the seven-match series.

 

Dhoni felt that though the conditions were ideal for batting, his bowlers gave away 20-30 runs extra on the placid Rajiv Gandhi International stadium wicket.

 

"We always knew the wicket was going to play good but the pressure of chasing 350 was high. It would have been easier had our bowlers done something extra to restrict the score to 325 or 330. I am not saying they should have stopped them at 270," said the wicketkeeper batsman, who had a poor outing with both the bat and behind the wicket.