Cricket

Dhoni was the difference: Vengsarkar

Dilip Vengsarkar, India’s chairman of selectors, has praised captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his role in the 3-2 series win in the one-dayers in Sri Lanka.

“Dhoni’s return to the team was a boon. Not only did he lead the side superbly but he played a couple of match-winning knocks,” Vengsarkar said. “More importantly, he handled the dreaded Ajantha Mendis with ease, and in the process, he showed his colleagues that Mendis could be handled and scored off too.”

“Man to man, India were a superior team and they played like one. For the last two years or so, India have really gone up in the rankings by several notches and that’s very heartening. Mind you, it’s tough to beat Sri Lanka on their home turf, as no Indian team has done it in the past and that’s why it is more satisfying.”

About the tests he added, “I guess Mendis was the difference between the two sides. He bowled brilliantly but what surprised me was the overcautious approach of the batsmen. I feel Tendulkar got more bogged down than necessary. In fact, with the kind of batting line-up that India boast of, it should have been Mendis was overawed.”

Tags: Dilip Vengsarkar, Idea Cup, Idea Cup 2008, India, MS Dhoni, ODI series, sri lanka