Captains differ on Motera track by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

---

Player:	MS Dhoni, KC Sangakkara
Event:	Sri Lanka in India 2009/10

---

DateLine: 20th November 2009

 

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni described the Motera pitch as a bowler-hostile track but his Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara, had no issues with the strip.

 

Dhoni said that the track as expected lacked bounce and did not deteriorate after the third day.

 

"We were expecting a batting pitch but thought it would deteriorate after the third day. But it did not. It also lacked bounce. At the end it did not help any bowler -- pacers or spinners," Dhoni said after the first Test ended in a draw.

 

Sangakkara, though, differed with Dhoni, saying despite the drawn match the pitch was the ultimate winner.

 

"Ultimately, the winner is the wicket. It stayed true for five days. The Indians showed a lot of spunk to save the match," the visiting captain said.

 

Man of the Match Mahela Jayawardene, however, was disappointed with the wicket on which he notched up his first triple-figure score in India.

 

"I thought it would deteriorate but it did very slowly. It lacked pace and bounce. Otherwise our spinners would have got a few of Indian wickets in their second innings and would have put pressure on them. That was the disappointment," said Jayawardene who scored 275.

 

Sangakkara said he isn't too disappointed though he felt his side could have tightened the screws a bit when India were in trouble early in their first innings.

 

"We cannot be too disappointed though we let off India after the first day morning session. Credit to them (India) they batted well after that," said the Lankan captain.

 

"We go to Kanpur (for the second Test) with lots of positives. The way Mahela (Jayawardene), Prasanna (Jayawardene) and (Tillakaratne) Dilshan batted it was a bit disappointment that we could not win here," he said.