NOTTINGHAM, July 14 (PTI): Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has lauded his bowling attack for its performance in the first Test versus England, which fizzled out to a tame draw on an unresponsive pitch here.
The visitors scored 457 and 391for 9 declared in their two innings while the hosts were bowled out for 496 in their only essay.
�We cannot control the pitch. We have to make do of what we have and there have been a lot of positives in this match,� said Dhoni.
�The bowlers did really well on especially on a wicket like this. Even in bowling 160 overs they kept their intensity and put in a lot of effort. Each of them bowled nearly 25 to 30 to 35 overs and yet they kept running in.�
�Overall our batting looked good too. Murali Vijay did really well and the others as well. Some batsmen get off to a great start in their careers and others take time. It is not always about results. If you look at the previous few tours, there has been a lot of improvement in our batsmen,� he added.
The �lifeless� pitch was the central theme of the Test match and it made many a bowler brush up their batting skills, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar scoring two half-centuries, Stuart Binny, Mohammad Shami and James Anderson scoring maiden Test fifties.
Anderson was also involved in a world record 198-run stand with Joe Root who scored 154 runs. This was after Vijay set the tone with his 146 runs in the first innings.
