Most of our dismissals happened at the wrong time: Dhoni

Even as the third and final Test between India and West Indies ended in a nail-biting draw, it was the home team that was left disappointed at the end of the day.

- Scorecard / Match Report

MS Dhoni's men had created an opportunity against the run of play, only to let it go. The fact that they fell short by just a run, while chasing 243 to win, added insult to injury.

The captain was, however, clear regarding where his team had exactly failed. "Most of our dismissals happened at the wrong time," reasoned Dhoni, before proceeding to elaborate on the point.

"Whenever we had a partnership going, we lost a wicket. Most of the batsmen who got out did so while playing a shot.

"It was easy to stay at the wicket and occupy it for a longer period. But it was difficult to score," he added.

The changing nature of the wicket on the fifth day per se surprised the captain. "Frankly, I don't know what happened," admitted Dhoni.

"Till yesterday evening it was alright. This morning it suddenly started to turn," he added, before admitting he was left surprised in the manner the final day had even turned out.

"When we took to the field we told ourselves that we will try and get a few wickets in the first hour," explained Dhoni.

"The first hour (of the first session) of the final day usually decides the course of play," he continued, adding, "Had we not managed to take wickets they would have scored a few runs.

"But our bowlers did extremely well. And because we could bowl them out in the first session itself, it gave us an opportunity to try and win the match," he added. 

Having said that, the Indian captain admitted it was a nice advertisement for Test cricket that a match, that seemed destined for a vapid draw after four days, was actually decided off the last ball bowled on the final day.