March 6: After extending their unbeaten run in the World Cup with a win over Ireland, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said his side is improving with every single match and also praised the Irish players for their fighting spirit and outstanding fielding.
India beat Ireland by five wickets to take the top spot in their group B but the hosts had to work had as Ireland made the host players sweat for the win. “It was needed (tough test). Scoreboard read it was 208 but it was close to 240. Their bowlers were well supported by their fielders. Everyone got a chance to bat, everyone was under pressure, and when you are chasing against Ireland it adds to pressure. It was very good exposure for the batsmen,” Dhoni said.
“We are showing signs of improvement in bowling. Our fielding will be the same, our exceptional fielders can get better but our slow fielders will remain the same. It’s important to peak at right time as it is long tournament,” he said.
First player in World Cup to take five wickets and hit a half-century, Yuvraj Singh was adjudged Man-of-the-Match. He scored 50 unbeaten runs and took five wickets early.
“Very happy with my bowling, happy to finish the game, Ireland played well to put us under pressure. Have been discussing with MS what kind of pace I should bowl at,” Yuvraj said.
“Five-for gives you a lot of confidence when you come out to bat. I think they fielded exceptionally, we had to play really well. I’m hitting the ball well down the ground,” he added. Ireland skipper William Porterfield the result could have been different had they scored about 40 more runs.
“We got ourselves in a great position after losing two early wicket, till the run-out of Niall. An extra 40 runs would have been interesting. We are a fighting side, we got three early wickets, there was spin in the pitch,” he said.