Dave baying for Dhoni's blood
St. Lucia, June 10: Smarting under the onslaught from Mahendra Singh Dhoni's blade, West Indies spinner Dave Mohammed says he is thirsty for revenge. The left-arm slow bowler was hit for six sixes by the Indian wicketkeeper batsman in the drawn first cricket Test at Antigua.
Wiser from experience, Mohammed says Dhoni will see a "different" bowler when he squares up against him next.
"If he was not a keeper but a bowler, I would hit him for 10 sixes back. I am looking for revenge," said Mohammed who stamped his presence in the first Test nevertheless with a fighting innings of 52 on the last day which saved the day for his team.
His show with the bat just 24 hours after Dhoni's fireworks was a proof that Mohammed had handled it well. "When I am hit for those sixes, I go back to pavilion, be myself, take a shower, I laugh. Next time, it wouldn't be like that. I now know the kind of player Dhoni is. When he comes out to bat next time, he would see a different me," the player said hours before the second Test begins here. "I also consoled myself with the fact that even the great Muttiah Muralitharan had been hit for 99 runs in his 10 overs once."
Rivalry apart, Mohammed is appreciative of Dhoni's positive attitude, a trait which he said has endeared him to the whole of India. "When he hit me for those sixes, Lara came down to me and asked me to bowl outside the leg-stump. He still hit me for one. He is a positive guy, just like me. That's why I guess the whole of India loves him." On the controversial dismissal of Dhoni on the fourth evening of the match, he said, "when that drama on his dismissal was being played, I only kept thinking one thing: how come the television camera could capture all his sixes but not when he has been dismissed!"
Mohammed doesn't just talk tough -- he is also one because he has seen the downside of life. "We were six boys and four girls and my mom brought us through. Nothing comes easy in life, I learnt it early. My grandma used to tell me 'burn to learn'. She is dead and gone but her words are with me." This side of his personality was reflected when he took on Virender Sehwag and Anil Kumble in his enterprising half century. While normally a batsman in that situation would be looking to play defensively, Mohammed tried to take the attack to the Indian camp. "I went there with a plan. It was to attack the Indian bowling because they were expecting the batsmen to get bogged down. It was a mind play.
"First ball Sehwag bowled at me, he actually hit me on my toes. I was bruised. He tried to outfox me but I went for him. My philosophy is, I must get to you before you get to me." This philosophy did not deter him even against Kumble though the latter is one of his idol. "I don't like spinners. I like to beat them up. Having played a Test against South Africa, one against England and now against India, I have only grown up watching these men on television." (Agencies)
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