'Didn’t want to sit in pavilion AC'
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni says he rescued India single-handedly by telling himself to fight, reports Akshay Sawai.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he handled the responsibility of having to almost single-handedly rescue India by telling himself to fight. “That’s what I like doing,” Dhoni said after the match. “I didn't want to go back to the pavilion and sit in the AC (air-conditioner).”
Dhoni rated his 91 not out as one of his best knocks. “I don’t like to compare innings. But what makes this innings satisfying is that the conditions were difficult. It was hot and it wasn't easy to score runs, especially off the left-arm spinners.”
Dhoni said there was healthy competition between him and Dinesh Karthik, India’s second wicket-keeper who scored 58 not out and with whom he put on 107 runs for the sixth wicket. “Perhaps it’s (our performance) something for the specialist batsmen to worry about,” Dhoni joked.
The wicket-keeper thanked Yuvraj Singh, who was his runner for a large part of the innings and kept him positive. “He helped me. I had confidence in him and Dinesh.”
Captain Rahul Dravid said Dhoni's innings and his partnership with Karthik were “special.”
“Dhoni did it despite having kept wickets for 47 overs in the first innings,” Dravid said. “He and Dinesh played risks, they took singles and twos and kept the asking rate within grasps. They showed how it’s done.”