After Chennai Test win, MS Dhoni says he never thought he would play for India

After securing a one nil lead over Australia in the ongoing four-match Test series at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was his usual modest self in admitting that he never thought he would ever represent his country.

When asked at the end of the match about his double century, Dhoni said he had never expected to achieve such a landmark as he never thought he would play for India.

"I never thought I will play for my country. I try to keep it simple and I''m really happy. The motive was to play a few shots and spread the field," the India skipper said.

Dhoni was declared Man-of-the-Match for his massive individual score of 224, whcih included 23 boundaries and five sixes. That innings took the match away from Australia in the Chennai Test.

He went on to describe what laid the foundation for India''s win, with a special mention for R Ashwin who took a match haul of 12 wickets.

"Ashwin bowled in the right areas. In the second innings, Harbhajan [Singh] bowled much better. Ashwin has got the variations but he was consistent and didn''t try to experiment too much. He stuck to his offspinners and varied the pace nicely. But it was important that he bowled in the right areas," said Dhoni.

Dhoni said the good work done by Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and Cheteshwar Pujara made life much easier for the lower order.

"The first partnership was very important. Sachin and Pujara batted well [after the openers fell quickly]. But the partnership between Virat and Sachin was very crucial. It provided a good platform for the rest of the batsmen. The [Australian] bowlers were a bit tired after that. The lower order''s contribution was very important," Dhoni said.

Dhoni was also very appreciative of the Chennai crowd. "I have spent a lot of time in Chennai, starting with the IPL. Not to mention I made my Test debut here. It was good to see the crowd coming to watch this match," he said.

... contd.

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