MOHALI, Oct 5 (PTI): India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today heaped praise on senior batsman VVS Laxman for single-handedly guiding the country to a memorable one-wicket win over Australia in the first Test here today.
�VVS was really remarkable in this match. He helped the team overcome a batting collapse. Laxman remained on crease, hit boundaries, rotated strike and kept the scoreboard moving all the time,� Dhoni said after the match. �For me, it was a very special innings by Laxman,� he added.
Laxman battled severe back-pain to play a gritty unbeaten 73 off 79 balls and produced an 81-run partnership with Ishant Sharma to script the win, which sent the hosts one-up in the two-match series.
Dhoni also made a special mention of Ishant, who contributed 31 crucial runs. �Ishant showed good character when the batting collapse took place. It was no doubt a big task. Only two-three batsmen remained and Laxman was on the other end. But they supported Laxman well and that worked for us,� he said.
�Our heart rate went up. Nobody could imagine such an ending in four-and-a-half days when the match started,� he added. Dhoni also praised his bowlers, saying, �Bowlers also played their roles and brought us back into the game.�
Man-of-the-Match, paceman Zaheer Khan who scalped eight wickets in the match and also completed 250 Test wickets, was yet to recover from the hangover. �Everyone was trying to keep their calm during those close moments, trying to remain composed. Everybody in the dressing room was nervous and was behaving in their won ways,� Zaheer said.
Asked about his personal achievement, the left-arm pacer said, �It is the result of a lot of hardworks. Few days back I was struggling with shoulder problems. I am happy that the struggles have paid off.�
SCORECARD
Australia 1st innings: 428
India 1st innings: 405
Australia 2nd innings: 192
India 2nd innings (overnight 55/4): G Gambhir lbw b Hilfenhaus 0, V Sehwag c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 17, R Dravid c Paine b Bollinger 13, S Tendulkar c Hussey b Bollinger 38, S Raina c North b Hilfenhaus 0, Z Khan c Clarke b Hauritz 10, VVS Laxman not out 73, M S Dhoni run out 2, H Singh c Ponting b Bollinger 2, I Sharma lbw b Hilfenhaus 31, P Ojha not out 5. Extras: (B-10, LB-8, NB-1, W-6) 25. Total: (for 9 wickets in 58.4 overs) 216. Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-31, 3-48, 4-48, 5-76, 6-119, 7-122, 8-124, 9-205. Bowling: Hilfenhaus 19-3-57-4, Bollinger 8-0-32-3, Johnson 16.4-2-50-0, Hauritz 9-1-45-1, North 4-0-8-0, Watson 2-0-6-0.
