Chandigarh, Oct 8: In complete contrast to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar's remarks about the senior players in the side, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today sided with the ageing stalwarts and said they are irreplaceable. After his side beat Australia by eight runs in a cliffhanger here, Dhoni said the team needed to groom the youngsters but at the same time insisted that the ageing trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid was an indispensable part of the side.

"I think none said they are no longer needed. Frankly, you can't replace the seniors, given the amount of talent they have. They have proved themselves in this match as well," Dhoni said. "Of course we need to groom the youngsters side by side. Because if one day the senior players decide to leave the arena, you would be at sea. So you have to keep the juniors ready," he said. Vengsarkar in a recent interview had told that seniors should not take their place for granted.

Tendulkar and Ganguly gave India their best start of the series, forging a 91-run stand in 20 overs and saw through the difficult early hour when the ball was swinging a lot. Asked if he felt that it was a tardy start, Dhoni said that was not the case. "(On the contrary) I think we went on to score 291 just because of the start they gave us. They played really well against the Australian bowlers who were bowling so well and credit goes to Sachin and Sourav," he argued. Asked what was the turning point in the see-saw match, Dhoni said, "I can't single out any particular wicket. Getting (Andrew) Symonds and (Matthew) Hayden's wickets, Bhajji's over, Murali Kartik's over..." Did he ever feared the match slipping through his finger? "No", replied Dhoni.

India managed to stay afloat in the series, which they still trail 1-2, and Dhoni said he was not thinking about levelling or winning the series. "We are going to take it just match-by-match basis. We are down 1-2 and we need to play good cricket," he said. Hayden struck a run-a-ball 92 that almost took the match away from India and Dhoni admitted, "We need to get him out." He was also happy that comeback man Murali Kartik had lived upto his expectations. "I was among the people who wanted him to be back. I think he was brilliant. If he had not done so well, I would have been at the receiving end." Finally, Dhoni was relieved that today's match was broadly devoid of any on-field antics.

"Whatever goes inside, you should leave it behind when you cross the rope. You have to keep yourself calm and cool. I think nobody wants a game without a chit-chat but that has to be within limit and I think none cross the line today." (Agencies)