Reverse swings it for India

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's two fifties helped him secure the man-of-the-match award

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Stand-in captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni cited reverse swing as a key reason for India’s comprehensive victory over Australia in Mohali.

The hosts won the second Test by 320 runs yesterday to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match Border-Gavaskar series.

Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma were key weapons in the India armoury in both innings, accounting for eight wickets between them.

And Dhoni, who stood in for injured skipper Anil Kumble, was pleased with the movement they extracted in the air with the old ball.

"A lot depended on how quickly we were able to get the ball to reverse,” he said.

"The new ball offered very little so it was important to maintain the ball.

"The guys whose task it was to maintain the ball did that pretty well and our bowlers were able to generate reverse swing in the 12th or 13th over.

"It becomes tough for batsmen when the ball reverse swings especially when its hard and fairly new.

"We bowled in the right areas as well - our first 13 overs only cost us 22-odd runs. It shows how good we were with the ball.”

Dhoni's credentials in Test cricket have been questioned in the past, his decision to opt out of the Test series in Sri Lanka adding fuel to the debate.

Zaheer Khan swings one past Brad Haddin's bat as Australia crumble in their second innings at Mohali

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But he hit back with strong batting performances in both innings, narrowly missing out on a century in the first innings.

"It's important to play my natural game,” he said. “I had receded into a shell in previous matches and I had curbed my game a little.

"It's not acceptable to get out playing a big stroke in Test cricket, especially in India. That does play on your mind.

“But my strength is to play my strokes and that's what I should be looking to do.

“If there is a situation, then I could curb my game a little, but I should look to play my strokes more often.”

Asked which of the several milestones achieved by the India players in the match he enjoyed the most, Dhoni said: “Sourav getting 7,000 runs was very special.

"This is his last series and he's going out there and performing without any sort of pressure on him.

"Sourav at his best and playing his strokes is very different from the others."