Missing the world record by a whisker did not rankle Rahul Dravid but it indeed left Virender Sehwag disappointed.
Dravid and Sehwag squandered a golden chance to break a 50-year-old world record for the opening partnership when the cavalier Delhi batsman was dismissed four runs short of the mark in the first Test in Lahore on Tuesday.
Their partnership ended at 410, just three runs short of Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy's record of 413.
But a stoic Dravid said it was "good to enjoy what we did rather than worry about what didn't happen".
"I was not really disappointed at failing to break the record. For me to get to 410 is really special. We did not expect to get this far. Although it would have been definitely nice to have got it," he said after the drawn encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium.
"But it's one of those things. It was not easy to concentrate as we were coming on and off for bad light. It was bound to happen at some stage. Viru was certainly a bit disappointed that we couldn't get there especially because we had gone on to play when light was not good today," said the 33-year-old Bangalore stalwart who made an unbeaten 128.
"For us to actually sustain the partnership after coming on and off so many times was itself a good task. We had a good partnership and it is good to enjoy what we did rather than worry about what didn't happen," he said.
Dravid said the flat wicket made life miserable for bowlers on both sides while giving good batting practice to the batsmen. "It was a very batsmen dominated Test match. It's very obvious as over a thousand runs were scored and not many wickets fell.
"It wasn't easy for bowlers of both teams to bowl on. It was a very hard wicket to bowl on. But batsmen from both teams got good batting practice at the start of the series." The Indian skipper also said he was not concerned that the rest of the Indian batsmen could not have a go in the weather-hit match.
"I am not very concerned. We had a good practice game coming into this Test. Everyone's batting quite well. We have two days of good net practice at Faisalabad before the next Test. We look forward to good game there," he said.
Dravid dismissed the suggestion that India would have the momentum going into the second Test at Faisalabad.
"We had a big partnership which has given us lot of confidence. But I won't say it has given us the momentum. I am not a believer in terms like momentum, psychological edge and things like these, having played so much cricket. When we start at Faisalabad all these things would be forgotten," said the Indian captain.
Dravid said he enjoyed watching Sehwag go slam-bang with his bat, hitting an incredible 47 fours and a six in his 247-ball knock of 254, from the other end.
"Watching Viru bat from the other end was thrilling. He hit some incredible shots, even considering that the wicket was flat. We have got a lot of confidence from this partnership for sure and have made a strong statement especially after being on the field for so long.
"We had to respond well to 679 and we had a brilliant batting performance, no doubt." Dravid also said he never tried to match Sehwag during the partnership and stuck to his game plan.
"During the partnership I stuck to what I know best. I am happy to say I did not get carried away by what Viru did at the other end. I stuck to my game plan. It's important to build on partnerships." Dravid refused to criticise Sehwag for the manner in which he got out finally, top-edging an attempted slash off Rana Naved-ul-Hasan over the slips.
"He's an attacking batsman. He plays in this fashion. He played a similar shot when reaching 200 from 199. That's why he's so good to watch when on a song." Dravid said it was part of the game when queried on his eye-balling Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar yesterday.
"It's all part of the game. We respect each other. He's a good bowler but the wicket was not in any bowler's favour. I am looking forward to facing him again." Dravid did not think that Harbhajan Singh, who went wicketless while giving away 176 runs in 34 overs in the Pakistan first innings, was not comfortable bowling with the Kookaburra balls being in use in the series.
