‘Perfect’ show pleases Dhoni

With the match well in India’s grasp after restricting England to a below par total in the third one day international here, many believed that skipper M.S. Dhoni will promote himself up the order to provide some entertainment to the local fans in this one-sided contest. But the 31-year-old said that the win was of paramount importance and not the entertainment.

“I understand the fact that the match is happening in Ranchi and people would love to see me bat. But the first priority, which was of utmost importance, is to win the match. I am not here to entertain people of Ranchi,” said Dhoni at the post match conference. The situation was, however, well under control with India needing 78 runs from more than 30 overs at that stage.

“At that time, the best option was to send Yuvraj and we did that,” Dhoni, who most famously promoted himself at perhaps the biggest stage, in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, added. Overall, however, Dhoni rated his team’s performance as perfect.

“It was important for us to win in the first game at this venue. We got off to a nice start. Our bowlers did great in not allowing opposition to make many runs and that’s why we were in a position to chase and win the match easily. It was a perfect performance by us.”

Dhoni’s opposite number, Alastair Cook, however, was left frustrated by yet another uninspiring performance by his team.

“It’s frustrating that none of us performed today. The damage had been done early and if we are defending a low total, we needed early wickets,” Cook said. The visitors are now left with the ominous task of winning back to back games to win the series.