London, July 16: As India rev up for ademanding four-Test series in England starting July 21, MS Dhoni recalls the memorable series win in 2007. In what turned out to be a crucial innings for the India’s standing in the series, Dhoni helped the team save the second Test in the second innings, contributing to some vital batting partnerships.
In an exclusive interview with bcci.tv, Dhoni relives the experience of playing in England for the first time ever.
On playing in England
Last time we were here for a full series it was [in] 2007. Before that I had not been to England for any kind of cricket. I [had] heard a lot from our senior players and the youngsters who come here to play different sorts of cricket at different levels. All of them said, it’s [the] place to play cricket and if the sun is shining, it can’t really get better when it comes to the weather. I was really looking forward to it. We landed and played a couple of warm-up games. I truly agreed with them; it is one of the best places to play cricket.
On the first innings of the first Test of the 2007 series
As far as our first Test is concerned, we were playing at Lord’s; [in] the first innings, I didn’t score any runs. I think I got out on a zero and the biggest part [is], you know in India we are used to things [reactions] that are really big, you can call it massive to some extent. I turn up at the crease and I see a sight screen that looked like 4X4 from the batting [area]. I was quite surprised and I got out on zero and [when I was] coming back everybody was standing and still clapping. So that was pretty different for me, something that we are not really used to.
On the second innings of the first Test of the 2007 series
Second innings we were looking to save the Test match. We had quite a few wickets and we knew the forecast the last day - it was supposed to rain - and usually when it is supposed to rain, it gets quite dark. [When] I was coming down to bat I had one thing in mind - I really said, “I don’t want to go back to the dressing room”. Not for some other reason, just for the reason that [in the] first innings when I came down I was on zero, when I went back they were still clapping [for] me so I thought it was better not to give the spectators, especially people sitting in the long room, an option to clap at me again. Hopefully it will be a good [applause for a well played innings] so I told myself it’s better if I can just look to play one delivery at a time, not to think too much about the bowler or the coming over and that’s what I really did.
On helping the team save the Test (a victory that helped them win the series)
[I] had a decent partnership with a few batsmen. I was batting with [VVS] Laxman and I think the interesting part was, when I started batting with [S] Sreesanth and he was the last batsman in and I knew we had a few overs left, Monty [Panesar] was bowling well and we had Michael Vaughn bowling from the other end because it went quite dark - so I think both of us did quite well to save the Test match. Which really proved good for us because that was the one Test match that had a big impact on the whole series because we won [the] next Test match and [at] Oval again, it was a draw. Which meant, just because we saved that Test match, we were able to win a series in England.
On his fondest memory from that tour
Those are the fond memories of not only the first Test match but also the whole Test series we played. It was very entertaining. The second Test match that we played, I think our bowlers bowled really well. The ball was swinging a lot at Trentbridge and I think we had some fond memories of saying, “When we went to England, we were playing under conditions which are slightly different [from] the subcontinent and we can proudly say we did really well as a team, not only in the batting department but also [the] bowling department and slip catching also.” So these are the fond memories and I can proudly say I was part of the 2007 side.
