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Dhoni berates batsmen for failure in 1st innings
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has revealed his dissatisfaction with the team's batting despite winning the first Test against the West Indies by a substantial margin.
India won the series-opener by five wickets but Dhoni was critical of his batsmen for the lack of application in the first innings
"If our batsmen see how they were dismissed in the first innings they would think that they should not have been out and done much better. Considering the difficult pitch, a bit of application from the batsmen would have helped," Dhoni said.
All India could manage was 209 in the first innings and consequently conceded a 95-run lead but came from behind to win the match with almost one-and-a-half day to spare.
"If we had the first innings lead it would have been a perfect start to the series. We did not do well in the first innings," said Dhoni.
'The Kotla track is difficult in its own way'
Dhoni also insisted that the much-criticised Kotla pitch was not a bad one but a surface "difficult in its own way".
"Venue-wise, historically Kotla has been a difficult track but I don't think it was a bad wicket. It's a typical Kotla track which favours spin more. It's slow and low and difficult to score. It's difficult in its own way. I hope Kolkata will be different," he said.
"There was nothing much for the batsmen as well as the bowlers. Batsmen have to work hard for runs while bowlers have to be patient and bowl at right areas consistently. It's different from earlier tracks in a way that there was a bit of grass on the track. On the third day you could see grass roots and it showed that the track would not break down," said Dhoni.