Records are overrated: Dhoni
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was certainly a happy man on Tuesday. After all, his team had battered the Australians into near submission by winning the second Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
And when one of the Australian reporters commented on his ear-to-ear grin, pat came the reply, causing ripples of mirth in the room. “Well, you got your chance to smile in Australia!”
With the win, Dhoni surpassed Sourav Ganguly as India’s most successful Test captain, with 22 wins from 45 matches. However, Dhoni hardly paid mind to that milestone. “I think records are overrated and hyped. If you see the dressing room right now, we are hardly bothered about who won how many games. What’s important is to win Test matches,” he said.
A fair share of the credit, Dhoni said, should go to the pitch. “It was a good wicket. There was some bounce with the new ball for the fast bowlers. There was also some reverse swing. Spinners did well with the older, softer ball.”
While most expected the match to finish on Tuesday, few would have thought Australia would surrender so meekly, losing eight wickets in just one session. But Dhoni said it wasn’t all that surprising a collapse.
“Once the ball gets old, it starts to turn, as we realised. The spinners were able to put pressure on the batsmen. We had runs in hand and we were waiting for the ball to get softer as we knew once that happens, we will get wickets.”
Dhoni backed the offcolour Harbhajan Singh, who has been under great pressure and severe criticism. “The pressure on a big player coming back into the side and trying to cement his place is much higher than a new guy coming into the side. That’s the case with Harbhajan Singh. I think he’s overcoming the pressure.”
That can only mean bad news for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who is waiting for his turn to take on the team from Down Under. As things stand right now, he might be warming the bench even in Mohali. “Having two off-spinners really helps as Australians have many left-handers,” Dhoni said, indicating Harbhajan might be favoured over Ojha again.
Another player who has been under pressure is the oft-misfiring Virender Sehwag. All signs point to the right-hander losing his spot in the squad, however a noncommittal Dhoni refused to comment on the issue.
Cheteshwar Pujara, in an interview, said he will assess himself as a Test batsman only after he does as well as he is now in overseas conditions. A statement that was brushed aside by Dhoni.
“I think he watches too many news channels (laughs). I always say, ‘Live in the present.’ Of course he has set his standards, but I always say enjoy what you have done. No point in saying he can be only judged as a batsman when he goes abroad. He’s done well, so he should just enjoy it.”