India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was delighted with the showing of Murali Kartik in the fourth One-Day International against Australia on Monday, saying his decision to back the left-arm spinner paid off.
"I wanted him (Kartik) in the team and backed him. He repaid my trust by bowling very well," Dhoni said after the eight-run victory in Chandigarh kept the seven-match series open.
Australia lead the series 2-1.
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Kartik came into the squad for the fourth and fifth ODIs in place of off-spinner Ramesh Powar and sent down an invaluable 10-over spell of 1-48 in the middle of the innings when Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds were going great guns.
He also came on to bowl two overs at the death of the innings and did not let the Aussies get away. Crucially, he conceded only two runs in the 48th over when the visitors seemed within striking distance of the target.
At one moment it seemed Australia would cruise to the target, but Dhoni, who was also fulsome in praise of Harbhajan Singh, said wickets pushed up the required run rate.
"The spinners bowled very well and got wickets to make it tough for Australia," he added.
The wicketkeeper-batsman also praised the old opening firm of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar for laying the platform for the big score of 291 for four.
"We were not chasing well so we decided to bat and started well. The middle overs were also productive and there was momentum in the end," said Dhoni, who scored a 35-ball 50 and was adjudged man of the match.
"Robin (Uthappa) played very well to get us to the score. It was a total team effort."
Talking about the changes in the batting order, pushing Yuvraj Singh and himself up, Dhoni said, "We need to play aggressive cricket to beat Australia. If we get bogged down we can't make a come back."
In a lighter vein, he indicated that captaining the side from behind the stumps is not putting extra pressure on him.
"I am only struggling with getting my voice heard by the boundary fielders," he quipped.
In complete contrast to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar's remarks about the senior players in the side, Dhoni declared they are irreplaceable.
"I think none said they are no longer needed. Frankly, you can't replace the seniors, given the amount of talent they have. They have proved themselves in this match as well," he said.
"Of course we need to groom the youngsters side by side. Because if one day the senior players decide to leave the arena, you would be at sea. So you have to keep the juniors ready."
Vengsarkar, in a recent interview, had said the seniors in the team should not take their places for granted.
Tendulkar and Ganguly gave India their best start of the series, forging a 91-run stand in 20 overs and saw through the difficult early hour when the ball was swinging a lot.
Asked if he felt that it was a tardy start, Dhoni replied, "(On the contrary) I think we went on to score 291 just because of the start they gave us. They played really well against the Australian bowlers who were bowling so well and credit goes to Sachin and Sourav."
Asked what was the turning point in the see-saw match, Dhoni said, "I can't single out any particular wicket. Getting (Andrew) Symonds and (Matthew) Hayden's wickets, Bhajji's over, Murali Kartik's over... ."
Did he fear that the match was slipping through his fingers?
"No", replied Dhoni.
"We are going to take it just match-by-match basis. We are down 1-2 and we need to play good cricket," he added.
Finally, Dhoni expressed relief that the match was devoid of any on-field antics.
"Whatever goes inside, you should leave it behind when you cross the rope. You have to keep yourself calm and cool. I think nobody wants a game without a chit-chat but that has to be within limit and I think none crossed the line today."
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said there were some facets of his team's game which left him disappointed."There are some parts of the game we need to work on. We were not at our best and I am disappointed," he said.
Nathan Bracken's last over in the India innings went for 20 runs while the 39 extras conceded by the Aussies played a major part in the eventual result.
"Our set batsmen could not finish the game off for us. If they had been at the crease in the last two overs, the result could well have been different," Ponting said.
He gave full credit to India for their winning performance.
"We knew India are a good side and will keep fighting. The series is now open again," he added.
