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Dhoni was fantastic: Dravid
October 31, 2005 19:56 IST
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Describing Mahendra Singh Dhoni's [Images] demolition of the Sri Lankan bowling as "unbelievable", India skipper Rahul Dravid [Images] said it was a "privilege" to watch the youngster bat.
"It was fantastic batting [performance] and it was a privilege to watch it. What made it even more special was that he saw the team through to the victory target," Dravid said after the six-wicket victory in the third one-day international in Jaipur on Monday.
Dravid said he only advised his wicketkeeper-batsman to back himself and believe in his ability.
"I just asked him to make use of the Power plays sensibly and back his ability to clear the ground."
He was happy that the batsmen did not panic while chasing a huge target.
"We believed in ourselves and showed determination to win the match," he said.
Referring to the team's bowling, Dravid said, "We bowled well for the first 30 overs but let it slip in the last 20."
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Dhoni said he found the wicket very flat and decided to make the most of it.
"After the 148 against Pakistan, I think this was expected of me," the Jharkhand lad cheekily said.
"Playing a long innings after keeping wickets for 50 overs is tough, but I am happy that I managed a pretty good innings."
Sri Lanka [Images] captain Marvan Atappattu said Dhoni's innings took the game out of his control.
"It did not matter whether we used Power plays or not, he hit the ball out of the park as and when he wished," he said.