Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was all praise for pacer Mohammed Shami, who finished with a match haul of nine for 118 to script a fabulous win for India inside three days against the West Indies in the first cricket Test of Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series at the Eden Gardens here Friday.
Shami, who had figures of four for 71 in the first innings, bagged his maiden fifer (5/47) in the second innings as the West Indies were skittled out for 168 in the second innings. Shami's match haul of nine for 118 was also the second-best by an Indian bowler after Narendra Hirwani.
"Shami was fantastic, he got the right length and that was the reason he got nine wickets. You need a bit of pace if you want to dominate, he has very good seam positioning which means he can reverse away from the right-handers too. On a wicket that has more bounce he can move the ball both ways," said Dhoni.
Dhoni also praised Rohit Sharma, who scored a century (177) on debut and was adjudged as Man of the Match.
"It is good to see how Rohit has batted, he is very talented but it is good to see it on the field," he said.
Dhoni said it was disciplined bowling that helped India win.
"I think this was a fantastic performance, the second day was the worst to bat and it became a better wicket as the match progressed. It was the disciplined bowling that helped us," he said.