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ShareSt Lucia: India may have pulled off the all-important win in the third ODI against the West Indies, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the team was on the backfoot for most part of the match because of rain interruptions.
India won by six wickets after Dhoni's last-over heroics chasing a target that had to be revised twice yesterday. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who won the man of the match award, said it wasn't easy adjusting to the target changes.
"Every time we thought we were in the game, the Duckworth-Lewis method got us on to the backfoot," Dhoni said. "We couldn't use our second power play due to that."
The skipper praised openers Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik for laying the foundation for the successful chase. "It was a good effort by the openers," he said. "Once we get a good start, we have the firepower to see the team home." Dhoni himself scored an unbeaten 46.
He also said the bowlers did a good job. "Getting [West Indian skipper Chris] Gayle out was the target and the bowlers did just that," he said. "There is no way you can stop him other than by getting him out."
Dhoni will now be looking to wrap up things in the last ODI at the same venue tomorrow.
Losing skipper Gayle praised his opposite number, but felt a bit more aggressiveness on the part of his bowlers could have helped the team to win the match.
Frequent rain interruptions affected the West Indies momentum, but Ramnaresh Sarwan ensured that they registered a competitive 185 for seven from 27 overs.
But thanks to a strong opening partnership between Karthik and Gambhir and Dhoni's heroics towards the end, India defeated the hosts to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series.
"We felt we had our chance after scoring 185," Gayle said at the post-match ceremony. "But we needed to be a bit more attacking at the start of the Indian innings."
He, too, lamented the frequent stoppages due to rain. "The weather made it difficult, but we can't do anything about it," he said. "In the end we tried to pull it off, but credit to Dhoni, he saw the team home."
