India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised opening batsman Gautam Gambhir but said it was the spinners who actually scripted the six-wicket victory over Bangladesh on a low and slow Rangiri Dambulla stadium pitch.
"Spinners won it for us. It is 200 per cent difficult to bat under lights here. Gautam provided a decent start. When he gets a start he normally goes on to get a big one. It is always good to get a bonus point if we can," Dhoni said after the match.
Gambhir was adjudged man of the match for his 82 that came off 101 balls. India rode on that knock to easily surpass the 168-run target.
However, it was a magical spell of four wickets for six runs by part-time off-spinner Virender Sehwag that helped India bundle out Bangladesh for a meagre 167.
Dhoni also expressed satisfaction about the overall performance of the team.
"If you see most of the senior players they did well; most of them bowled really well. As the game progressed it became really difficult. Good that we batted for half an hour before the break," he said.
Meanwhile, his Bangladesh counterpart, Shakib Al Hasan, admitted that losing quick wickets at the end of the innings ultimately did them in.
"Losing all those wickets in the end was the turning point. Batting was not that difficult on this pitch. After a long time the fast bowlers did well, and that's good for them. We are up for the remaining games," he said.
Gambhir, who went through a bad patch during the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, was happy to recapture his form.
"It was only at the T20 World Cup that I did not do well. There has been a lot of talk about my form. This was a perfect pitch for me to come back on. It was a wicket where you had to graft," he said.
"If Bangladesh had got 240-260 it would have been difficult. After the start they got we did not think we could keep them down to 160. All the bowlers did well," he added.
