Excellent blend of youth and experience in the team: Dhoni

Wellington: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni expressed disappointment after the third and final Test against the Kiwis ended in a draw and said he was expecting another 10 overs to mop up the New Zealand tail before the heavens opened up and dashed his hopes.
"I am just a bit disappointed that the match ended in a draw," said Dhoni at the awards ceremony after India clinched the three-match Test series 1-0 here on Tuesday, ending 41 years of drought.

India won the first Test in Hamilton by 10 wickets while the second in Napier ended in a draw.

Dhoni said he was expecting some more overs to finish off the job on the fifth day.

Chasing an improbable 617 for victory that would have helped Daniel Vettori's team level the series, New Zealand managed 167 for four last night.

They lost four more wickets this morning and reached 281 before rain intervened.

"I was expecting 10 more overs," said Dhoni, who became the first captain since Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi led the Indian team to Test series win in New Zealand in 1967-68.

However, Dhoni was happy emulating that feat. "I am happy with the performance," Dhoni said. "There is excellent blend of youth and experience in the team. The experienced players guide the youngsters and help them perform," Dhoni said.
The captain also lavished praise on left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir who tallied 445 runs in the three-match Test series.

"Gambhir is improving with the times and has played well throughout the series."

"The lower-order batting too has contributed well," he said.

Gambhir, who was named Man of the Match as well as Man of the Series, said his biggest challenge was to perform in New Zealand and he was happy to have fared well.

"It was the biggest challenge in front of me on my first foreign tour and I am happy to have performed well," said the opener, who has been enjoying a wonderful run with the bat.

The Delhi left-hander said playing with legends like Sachin Tendulkar eases off the pressure to a great extent. "Playing with legends of the game like Sachin takes away the pressure from you and helps you to perform."

While Gambhir hogged the limelight, former India captain Rahul Dravid too had a moment to cherish after becoming the world record holder for taking the highest number of catches in Tests.

"It's a lovely feeling. I have played a long time, a lot of matches throughout the years. I have worked hard and it's satisfying to be the highest catcher," said Dravid, who was handed the red cherry after the end of the match to mark the feat of taking 183 catches, eclipsing Australian Mark Waugh's 181.

New Zealand skipper Vettori was naturally disappointed with the outcome and said the batting of Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum were the positives.

"Ross, Jesse and Brendon have shown good batting skills during the series," said a dejected looking Vettori.