'Dhoni is a great captain'

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 10:48 AM

Doug Bollinger, architect of Chennai Super Kings' comprehensive victory over Deccan Chargers, heaped praise on his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the CSK skipper marshalled his resources with aplomb in the IPL semifinal match tonight.

"Mahi is a great captain and player. He grabbed the bull by its horns against Kings XI Punjab," said Bollinger.

"He's captained very well," said the Australian left-arm pacer after returning splendid figures of 4 for 13 that flattened the Chargers hopes and earned him the Man of the Match award.

Bollinger said that it was a question of adapting to different wicket conditions that was the key to a pace bowler's success in Indian conditions.

"In Chennai the wicket has some pace and bounce. In Delhi it's a bit slow and you have to hit the deck hard. In New Zealand (where he played a Test series prior to his stint in the IPL) too there were different wickets. It's a question of adapting to the wicket conditions," he said.

About the wicket prepared for today's tie at the D Y Patil Stadium, the Australian said it started as a track offering good bounce before becoming a bit slow in the latter part.

"It was a wicket with some good bounce in it when we batted. When we were bowling it became a bit slow and also turned. But we enjoyed playing on it," he said.

Describing his four-wicket haul, his second in the competition, as "pretty exciting", Bollinger said he was optimistic of his team's chances in the final against Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians on Sunday.

"We have a good chance if we play as well as we did. We back out ability. They have a great team but we will give it everything," he said.

Source: Web Search