By Qaiser Mohammad Ali
IANS
Dhaka : Mahendra Singh Dhoni's valiant 91-run unbeaten knock was crucial to India's win over Bangladesh in the first One-day International here,home team captain Habibul Bashar said after the match Thursday.
"I think 250 was a good total on this wicket, but Dhoni made all the difference and (Dinesh) Karthik supported him really well," Bashar told reporters after India's five-wicket win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
"I feel we had some chances, but we did not take them. We also missed a run out chance of Karthik, which could have been vital at that stage," he said.
Dhoni, who batted for a major part of his three-hour knock with cramps, faced 106 balls and hit seven boundaries, while Karthik scored an unbeaten 58 (61 balls, 4x4s). They raised 107 match-winning runs off 108 balls for the sixth wicket to seal the win with one over to spare.
"We were waiting for one wicket when Dhoni and Karthik were batting and we felt that we had a chance right till the end if we got that wicket," rued Bashar, who is playing his last ODI series at home.
Bashar himself failed to score and lasted just two balls. He admitted that he was worried about his form.
"Yes, my batting is a little bit of worry," he said ruefully.
The second match of the series will be played at the same venue Saturday.
The third match is in Chittagong. It will be followed by a two-match Test series.