MOHALI, Oct 21: India’s stand-in skipper Mahendra Dhoni was surprised at Australia’s lack of fight in the second Test after the hosts clinched a record 320-run win on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

“When we had an opportunity we made it count,” he told reporters after India had recorded their largest ever margin of victory by runs in a Test match.“That was what was important. We had four bowlers and we just used four bowlers. That was brilliant, they shared the responsibility.”

The wickets were shared with off spinner Harbhajan Singh claiming five and pacemen Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who stunned the batsmen with sharp swing, taking four each.

“Everybody contributed,” he said, when asked who he would have picked for the Man-of-the-Match award.

However, Dhoni was the most surprised by the nature of Australia’s capitulation.

“I have never seen anything like that,” he said. “Especially in the first innings, there were 13 overs (completed) and 22 runs were on the board.”

Despite the resounding victory, Dhoni warned his team to be ready for an Australian backlash in the next Test, starting in New Delhi on Oct 29.

“They had a few bad games, that doesn’t mean they have lost it,” he said. “They are still the number one team in the world.

“They’ve the potential, they have very talented guys in the side. They will come back strongly.

“That is what you expect from the Australian team. That is what they are all about.”—Reuters