Dhaka, May 10: Victory in the series-opening cricket one-dayer over Bangladesh has given a much needed boost of morale to the Indian team and manager Ravi Shastri predicted today that they would be hard to beat in the series hereafter. "At one point, I was also nervous about the outcome, but the boys showed tremendous character and fighting spirit. It will be difficult to defeat us now. Bangladesh better beware," Shastri said after the five-wicket win at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
The former all-rounder conceding that he too had become a bundle of nerves when things were not going India's way, but said the team only needed a couple of wins to get on track. "They are a great bunch. Their camaraderie is excellent. The need is for one or two wins like this to get the guys back on track and play the cricket they should," Shastri said.
He was full of praise for the match-winning efforts by M S Dhoni and Dinesh Kaarthick. "They are young players and to show that kind of maturity augurs well. The way they played you have got to give them credit. I thought they were outstanding in trying circumstances. "Dhoni had kept for 47 overs and then had to come out and bat and had cramps. But the good thing was he didn't give it away," Shastri said. "They played hard cricket today and they really had to dig into their reserves to win and that will stand them in good stead. I think Bangladesh will have to play better cricket now if they want to beat India," he added. (Agencies)
