Dhoni: Dew did us a favour

Mahendra Singh Dhoni capitalises on the favourable conditions to lead his side to a six-wicket victory, which put them 2-1 up

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India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes the dew factor had played a crucial role in his team’s six-wicket victory over Australia in the third one-day international in Delhi.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and led the way with a fine 59 up the order, while Mike Hussey scored an unbeaten 81 off 82 deliveries, as Australia made 229 for five.

India slipped to 53 for three but Yuvraj Singh weighed in with a superb 78 and Dhoni made an unbeaten 71, the pair taking the game away from Australia with a 148-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Australia, who had opted to chase in the previous game in Nagpur, were troubled by the damp outfield as spinners Nathan Hauritz and Adam Voges struggled for grip.

“We didn’t have much to chase and with the dew coming down, with wickets in hand and a powerplay to go, all we had to do was see off their best bowlers and go after the weaker ones,” Dhoni said.

“I think all our bowlers did well to restrict them to the total that we did, but on a wicket like this it could have been a tricky chase had there been no dew.

“It was a pretty ugly wicket with big patches right in front of you. It wasn’t easy to bat on but Yuvraj made it (look) much easier than it was.”

Dhoni urged his team not to relax although they have only a day’s break before the next game in Mohali.

“The best thing is to keep winning. It’s a good habit to have, but it’s a tough one to acquire,” he said.

Ricky Ponting queries the condition of the ball as his spinners struggled to keep grip

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Ponting admitted his team had been thoroughly beaten.

“We had our moments but we were not good enough to capitalise,” Ponting said.

“The Indians bat very low in their batting order and we needed to take another couple of wickets in the middle of the innings if we were to win the game.

“But Yuvraj and Dhoni played exceptionally well, it was a tough wicket to bat on and they made it look pretty easy.

“The Indians outplayed us and they certainly batted better than us in more difficult circumstances.”

Although Ponting believed the dew made life difficult, he admitted their performance with the bat was to blame for the defeat.

“There were only certain times in the innings when Nathan Hauritz could bowl really effectively, the first couple of overs when he came on and when the ball was changed after 34 overs,” Ponting said.

“Every other time the ball was slipping out of his hand. But a lot of it today had to do with the wicket as well.

“It was definitely better to bat on first and we didn’t capitalise on that. We’ve lost two games in a row now and we certainly have to get our heads around and get a quick turnaround.

“We’ve got only a day’s gap before the next game, but we certainly are up for it. Hopefully we can pick it up in Mohali and score a few more runs.”