India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lauded the "fantastic" performance of his side, especially the spinners, who according to him had set the platform for a comfortable six-wicket win over West Indies in the opening ODI of the three-match series, in Kochi on Thursday.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit sparkling half-centuries after spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja (3/37) and Suresh Raina (3/34) shone with the ball to thrash the visitors at the Nehru Stadium.
"I think it was a fantastic performance. It could have been even better if one of the batsmen scored a 100. I think the spinners did the job for us," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Asked to bowl, Jadeja and Raina exploited the low and slow conditions effectively to bundle out West Indies for a meager 211 in 48.5 overs. Kohli then smashed 86 off 84 balls, while Rohit made 72 off 81 balls to help India chased down the target with consummate ease in 35.2 overs.
"We didn't start very well, with the ball coming on nicely. There was a bit of variable bounce which assisted our fast bowlers. Overall, I think the spinners did the job and kept the pressure on," Dhoni said.
"It was not easy for the opposition to rotate the strike, so they had to go for the big strokes. I thought it was a wicket where the spinners can do the job, so I thought let's start with Raina. He bowls slightly flattish and can be of good effect with the variable bounce. The first wicket he got it didn't bounce much," Dhoni said about his decision to introduce Raina ahead of regular spinner Ashwin.
"I think they (Dhawan, Rohit, Virat) have been batting really well. Again Virat was brilliant. I thought our bowlers did well and the batsmen negotiated the new ball really well. There was not many runs to be scored, but still they batted really well, especially of Narine who was spinning it both ways," he added.
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