Dhoni hails Mishra, Axar for big win in final ODI

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was fulsome in his praise for his spinners who helped India bowl out New Zealand for 79 as the hosts clinched the five-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series 3-2 here on Saturday.

India had put up 269/6 in 50 overs and in reply the visitors were floored by leg spinner Amit Mishra (5/18) and Axar Patel (2/9).

"One of the best performances by the bowlers. This was one game where the spinners bowled with a lot of assistance," Dhoni said after the game.

"Before this when we bowled first, the wicket was always better to bat in the first half," the captain added.

"It was an exceptional performance in this game, there was a bit of dew. But the pace the spinners bowled was perfect."

Dhoni also had words of encouragement for young middle and lower-middle order batsmen like Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav and Axar Patel, who failed to grab the chances they got while the team was chasing in the couple of games.

"I feel the batsmen down the order, like Kedar Jadhav, Axar Patel and Manish Pandey gained a lot of experience. It is difficult to get the complete product in international cricket so the new players should be given time to develop," the 2011 World Cup-winning skipper reflected.

"There are few ways to approach the game. The IPL way, you keep hitting and chase down but in international arena, you fail and that's when you become more calculative. It's not necessary to win in 40 overs. You can do so in 50 as well."

--IANS

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