Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Sunday losing too many wickets upfront was a major reason for the team's failure on Sunday.
JAIPUR: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Sunday losing too many wickets upfront was a major reason for the team's failure to chase down 307 in the fifth one-day cricket international against Pakistan.
"When the opposition scores more than 300, you need to maintain the run rate for a successful chase. Otherwise it keeps mounting and creates pressure," Dhoni said after India fell short by 31 runs at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
"The initial wickets they took hampered our chase. From then on, we were always trying to catch up and it became difficult," he said.
However, Dhoni, who won his first ODI series as captain, lauded the effort of the team in the five-match rubber.
"We played well. We were good in batting and bowling. We did not field well and there is scope of improvement there. We are working on that and hopefully we will be an improved side," he said.
Dhoni added that Sachin Tendulkar, with his "aggressive batting," played a major role in the series win.
"Sachin has been doing that for more than 15 years. There is nothing to be said about him. He is playing aggressively,"
the captain said.
He also said that Yuvraj Singh, who was chosen man of the series, was taking up a lot of responsibility and that augurs well for the team.
"He is batting with responsibility and that is good for the team. He is proving a point."
Asked about youngster Rohit Sharma's knock today, Dhoni said "he was under pressure when he went out to bat. This was a match where guys who sit outside got an opportunity to play and that is important for the team."
Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik said the victory would boost the confidence of the side ahead of the three match Test series.
"We are going into the Test series and this victory will give us confidence," Malik said.
He said that playing five bowlers did the trick for the team today.
"We were playing five bowlers after a long time and that worked for us. Credit to the whole team for their effort," he said.
Asked about his own form, Malik, who scored 89 today, said "It is good that I got those runs today before the Test series."
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