Winning the first Test is just the beginning and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni now wants to clinch the three-match series against New Zealand as a gift for senior members Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Winning the first Test is just the beginning and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni now wants to clinch the three-match series against New Zealand as a gift for senior members Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
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Under Dhoni, India ended a 33-year drought today by winning their first Test here since the eight-wicket victory by the Sunil Gavaskar-led side in 1976.
Another history beckons Dhoni's team which remains on course to record India's first Test series win here since 1968 when Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and his men achieved the feat.
Dhoni said he wants to do it for Tendulkar and Dravid. "One of the first milestones we have achieved in this series is to win a game and take the lead. But now it is important to play the same kind of cricket in the second and the third games," Dhoni said.
"If we can win the series that will be the best gift the team gives to Sachin and Rahul," said the Indian skipper.
Dwelling on today's 10-wicket victory - his fifth Test win as captain in six matches - Dhoni attributed it to a great team and a set of great players who have contributed consistently with the bat and ball.
"I have got a great team, more than anything else. Each and every individual is doing his job. We enjoy each others' success. We help each other a lot when it comes to cricket, on and off the field.
"We create an environment where every individual feels comfortable. We give the best facilities so that the cricketer can perform and that is what is the asset of the side," Dhoni said at the post-match briefing.
Dhoni said the team had the perfect blend of youth and experience and if they manage to maintain the same standard, they would continue scaling new heights.
"We have played consistent cricket over a period of time and that is what is helping the side. We have a good mixture of guys who have plenty of experience, guys who are youngsters, who want to perform and who are very talented. That is what is helping the side. We take pride in whatever we do. If we continue to that, there will be plenty of good things which will happen to us," Dhoni said.
According to him, India played session by session and their 241-run first innings lead made all the difference in the match.
"It is all about winning session after session and not about winning a day's play or a few sessions. When it came to bowling or batting, we were right there on top of our game. The batsmen who got in made it a point to score runs. Sachin played a big long innings and the rest of the batsmen contributed in and around him which helped us to get a big score and get a big lead.
"We had the opportunity to put pressure on the New Zealand batsmen. It is always difficult in Test matches if the opposition gets a 200 or 250-run lead with three days of play on. It is tough to tackle the mental aspect more than anything else," Dhoni said.
u00a0Dhoni said winning was the mantra of the team, irrespective of who was in the squad or not in it. "You want to win, whether Sachin is a part of it or Sachin is not a part of it. Of course, it is great to play with Sachin. And if he can contribute to wins, that will be more important for us," he said.
Lavishing praise on Tendulkar, Dhoni said, "It's a pleasure to see him bat. Whenever he scores those big hundreds, you can't see anything better. The way he paced his innings, there was a phase when the New Zealand bowlers were bowling well. He didn't take too many risks at that point of time and later on he capitalised on that. Once he was over that 80-run mark, he was getting boundaries at will. I don't think there was any bad delivery that wasn't hit for a four."
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