Sending Sehwag at No 4 helped: Dravid
Bangalore, Nov 19: Skipper Rahul Dravid today said sending Virender Sehwag at No 4 in the second one-day international (ODI) against South Africa here helped the swashbuckler break his run of poor scores. "It shows that we have guys who can play in at different positions. He was batting well but was not getting big scores and today he played well and performed with the ball also," Dravid said after India's six-wicket win over South Africa.
Dravid said the team needed to come up with a big performance after the thrashing in the first one-dayer and was happy with the way the team has taken up the challenge. "We needed to come up with a big performance and the boys have responded very well," Dravid, playing as captain in his home town for the first time, said.
Praising Irfan Pathan for his all-round performance, Dravid said, "It was a good toss to win and Irfan did all the damage upfront and then all the guys (spinners) chipped in." "The ball was turning and we put them in pressure after the fall of early wickets. We thought of keeping them tight at that stage so that they are forced them to play big shots."
South African skipper Greame Smith blamed the defeat on the batsmen and the wicket to some extent. "There was not enough runs. The toss played a big role. The wicket was dry and we couldn't play shots. It did not turn in the night and 210 or 220 might also have been difficult to defend." Man of the match Pathan said, "My aim was to bowl stump to stump as the wicket was on the slower side."
On his batting, he said he curbed his shots after the early breakthrough, "they were bowling well and it was not easy to play shots so I played accordingly". (Agencies)
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