Brendon McCullum, elated after New Zealand’s 40 run victory over India said his counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the most crucial of them all, which turned the match in the home side’s favour.

 

“We thought we have a big total and if we bowl well, that would be enough runs. We know the quality of their batsmen and how they are capable of putting together big scores and big partnerships. At one stage, when they were sitting 220 for 2, we were starting to get ourselves behind the eight-ball and it took something special to get us out of that. We respect the Indian team a lot for what they have done and where they sit in the world rankings and that’s what makes this victory so special,” McCullum said at the post-match press conference.

 

New Zealand scored 503 runs in their first innings and then were shot out for just 105 after not enforcing the follow-on when they had bowled India out for just 202 runs. It was a decision that nearly came back to haunt them. India came really close to pull off a sensational victory before falling short of the target.

 

“You cannot regret any decision and when you make that decision, you put some thought into it. Ultimately someone has got to make that decision and I guess that comes down to me. I made the decision and I never regretted it for a moment.