Dhoni hails Pathan brothers for T20 win against Sri Lanka

Colombo, Feb 11 (PTI) India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has hailed the Pathan brothers -- Yusuf and Irfan -- for their match winning eighth-wicket partnership and said if it wasn't for the them, the result of the match would have been different especially with the middle order finding it tough to score runs against the Sri Lankan spinners.
Yusuf and Irfan shared a crucial 59-run unbeaten eight-wicket stand to set up a pulsating three wicket victory for India in the one-off Twenty20 match against the Lankans yesterday.
"It was tough match, both when we were bowling and when we were batting as well. We played a couple of bad shots in the middle of the innings and the pressure came back to us.
"It was tough to score runs against the spinners as the ball was turning a lot. At one point of time, it even became difficult to rotate strike. But we have to keep that in mind as it was a good learning for us. The Pathan brothers brought us back into the game," Dhoni said after the match last night.
Man-of-the-match Yusuf, who picked up two important wickets for 23 runs during the Lankan innings and scored a breezy 22 to set the foundation for the victory, said he just played his natural game.