Memorable win at Lord's for India and myself: Dhoni
Press Trust of India London Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today described his team's 95-run win over England in the second Test here as a special one, and said the victory was a "memorable" one for him because he does not forsee himself to play a five-day game again at the 'Home of Cricket'.
India clinched their first Test win at the historic Lord's in nearly three decades after riding on Ishant Sharma's inspired spell of fast bowling to demolish England by 95 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
India registered their first Test win at Lord's in 28 years -- only second win in 17 Tests here -- after 'Kapil Dev's team achieved the feat back in June 1986 winning by five wickets.
"It is a special win here yes, but every Test win is special in its own way. I remember the 2007 series when the match ended in a draw because of bad light and S Sreesanth and I were batting at that time. We saved the Test and were victorious in that series.
"Every Test is special and it is great to win outside India. It will be my last Test at Lord's because I don't see myself coming back here in a few years. So yes, it is a very memorable victory," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference.
Ishant, whose consistency has always been under the scanner, delivered when it mattered most, as he grabbed a career-best figures of seven for 74 to bowl out England for 223 in pursuit of a competitive victory target of 319.
From a relatively comfortable 173 for four, the last six wickets fell for only 50 runs with the final five coming in only 12.2 overs after lunch on an absorbing fifth day's play.
Dhoni lauded his young and inexperienced team and said the win was just reward for the visitors.
"It is a result of hard work and effort of the team," said Dhoni about his young team's achievements.
"The result will not always be in your favour. But in the last couple of series outside India, we were in a position to seal victories in one Test each in both South Africa and New Zealand. Somehow we were not able to do that here but I felt the bowlers put in great efforts in both those matches. It was important to keep working hard and giving the same kind of preparation and thinking into every game.