Perth:
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni heaped praise on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his match-winning bowling effort in India’s nine-wicket spanking of United Arab Emirates in a cricket World Cup group league match today and termed the length he bowled as “superb”.
Ashwin, who was adjudged man-of-the-match, almost singlehandedly decimated UAE for 102 with a career-best haul of four wickets for 25 runs, and Dhoni lauded him for his ability to adapt to the conditions.
“I think Ash (that’s how he referred the off-spinner) bowled really well. It’s important to change your bowling to some extent according to wicket. You have to find the right length and right trajectory to bowl, and I felt Ash did that really well,” Dhoni said at the post-match media conference.
“He (Ashwin) did use his faster one also, and he was quite successful to get a bit of spin on it, and that was the reason he got a couple of wickets out of those particular deliveries. But, I felt his line and length was superb and the pace at which he bowled,” he said.
Dhoni expressed happiness at Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling effort of two wickets for 23 runs from his five overs today.
“Jadeja got a bit of turn later on. I introduced him quite late. I wanted to go a few more overs with our fast bowlers, but he bowled really well. Whatever opportunity he got, he bowled well,” he said.
The skipper seemed satisfied with the effort of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/19), who made a comeback to the playing eleven after recovering from an injury, as well as the bowling unit in general.
“He (Bhuvi) bowled well. It was good to give him a game. Shami was not 100 percent, so looking at the tournament ahead, obviously we felt it was better off, if we can give Shami a bit of rest,” said Dhoni.
“I thought Bhuvi started off well. He was slightly up in pace. That’s what it felt like from behind the wickets. It’s good to see the whole fast bowling unit available for selection. We will see who is the best on those particular wickets that’s provided. It’s good to see Bhuvi getting a bit of action.”
