Dhoni happy with bowling performance

India give away 321 but skipper pleased with death bowling

KARACHI: Despite conceding 321 in the first ODI against West Indies, Indian captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni claims he is happy with his bowlers, especially in the death overs.

"Most of our bowlers, apart from Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, gave away runs," said Dhoni after the game. "Considering that we restricted them to a total of 321 on this wicket, I must say our bowlers did a decent job. I was quite happy with the death bowling and they bowled quite consistently, maintaining their lengths, and we were able to put fielders in the right areas. Overall, I am quite happy with the bowling."

Marlin Samuels’ sixth ODI hundred and his 165-run record partnership with Denesh Ramdin were the catalysts of West Indies’ 124-run win in Kochi as the Indians were bowled out in 41 overs for 197.

Despite nullifying the spinners’ threat well, Samuels was full of praise for the Indian attack. "They have good spinners and I wanted to make sure I played well against the spinners," said Samuels. "Amit Mishra is a very good leg-spinner with a googly like an off-break, so you have to be watchful. We tried to get the ones and twos against him and then attack the bad ball. It worked well."

Having taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, West Indies now go to Delhi for the second ODI on October 11.