By Qaiser Mohammad Ali
IANS
Dhaka : After scoring a match-winning unbeaten 91 against Bangladesh in the first One-day International here Thursday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that he fought on despite the conditions favouring bowlers and his troubling leg cramps.
"The conditions over here were favouring the bowlers, particularly the left-arm spinners. I think it was quite tough," he said, referring to the hot conditions at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Dhoni batted for over three hours during which he also battled leg cramps.
"Dinesh (Karthik) and me had a good partnership and everything worked for us," he said of their 107-run sixth wicket partnership during which Karthik scored an unbeaten 58.
About his valiant knock, Dhoni said: "I only had that option – to play. I am a fighter and I believe in fighting hard. Coming back and sitting in the dressing room – that is not what I was looking for. Yuvraj really helped me a lot; he ran quite a few runs for me (as runner)."
He said he was not worried about the total.
"It was not really too much, but I was getting the cramps, it was not the pain. The cramps were bothering me, not the pain," he said.
"The only plan we (he and Karthik) had was to take the match till the end. We thought even if we need 20-25 runs in the last two overs we will get it because they had to bowl a part-time bowler and our aim was to get the runs off that bowler."
India needed 12 off the last two overs and Dhoni and Karthik scored those in just one in the rain-shortened match.
The second and penultimate match of the series will be played at the same venue Saturday.
The third match is in Chittagong. The two teams will also play a two-match Test series.