Virat-Gautam stand was the base for victory: Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lauded that double-hundred stand between centurions Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli that was key in the team’s 50-run win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Tuesday.

“There were not many boundaries in the Virat-Gautam partnership but they did well to set up a base. It is a tough ground to defend with quick outfield. Hopefully it won’t be as easy to bat in the second innings as it is now as the tournament goes on. It is not that we played badly against Sri Lanka (in Australia),” said Dhoni.

Dhoni felt the wicket eased out as the Sri Lankan innings progressed.

“It was difficult at that time when Mahela was batting well. The wicket changed a bit, it came onto the bat better and they were able to play their shots. Praveen was having an off day then, they took Jadeja for runs, so I was actually two bowlers short at that time. And had to get the part-timers in. But Praveen came back well, and Irfan and Vinay supported him well,” he said.

Kohli, man of the match, said it was satisfying to be able to adjust so quickly having played in Australia for the last two-three months.

“We (Gautam and I) have got a lot of big stands between us. We understand each others’ games really well. We don’t have to tell each other what to do. It is very satisfying when the wicket is slow, you have to control your urge to hit a boundary and take the singles,” he said.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene lamented that his boys couldn’t finish off the match well despite a good start.

“When you are chasing something like that, the guys who get starts have to finish off. Pretty bad shot from me. We chased really well, nothing wrong with the wicket. We needed to finish the chase which we did not do,” he said.

“Initially they set it up nicely with Gautam and Virat. I thought we gave away 15-20 runs more. We can take many positives out of this game. The new guys did well,” he said.

Asked if he was enjoying his role as an opener, Jayawardene said: “I have enjoyed batting up the order. I am more relaxed, I can play my shots. It is easy to bat with Dilshan and it later flows with Sanga,” he said.