Despite losing the match by a run, more so after they had destined for a canter, Mahendra Singh Dhoni isn’t an unduly concerned skipper. “We are disappointed, but overall the team fared well. Our new-ball bowlers gave us early wickets. They bowled well at the death, especially (Lakshmipathy) Balaji. Then Irfan bowled well to give us breakthroughs in the middle overs. Then, Virat (Kohli) batted well, Suresh (Raina) showed he was in good knick and Yuvi batted extremely well,” he reflected.
Beyond any doubt, Yuvraj Singh’s return overshadowed the context of the match. “It was a big game for him and all eyes were on him. And he fielded, bowled and batted really well. Personally, he gives us a right balance. As a bowler, he is a variation I can use. Since we go with mostly four specialists, we need guys like Yuvi and Virat to fill in as the fifth bowler,” he pointed out.
Dhoni reckoned Yuvraj would only get better henceforth. “Once he has done well, he will feel he can do anything in the coming days.”
“Obviously you feel a bit of pressure when you go into your first match after 10 months. But he kept things simple. It’s about giving the individual space, and we did the best to keep emotions under check,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the playing XI for the T20 World Cup would more or less be the same, barring the return of Virender Sehwag who missed out the match due to a mild flu.
“We wanted to assess Balaji and he bowled extremely well at the death. Once Sehwag returns, we would return to the top of the order. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be too many changes for the World Cup,” he specified.