Auckland: Happy with the tie that has kept India’s hopes alive to tie the series against New Zealand, Indian skipper MS Dhoni said that he had full faith in Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin.

“I had faith in Ashwin and Jadeja. Ashwin should have batted till the end, but this is also the first time he was put into a position like this. I definitely feel like he is someone who can definitely bat like a batsman, and has improved his power hitting as well, which he has been working on,” said Dhoni, adding that they failed to grab the situations which could have won them the match.

“It is a bit disappointing, but overall a good result as it keeps us alive in the series. Even if we can't win it, we can go for the draw. I think the straight boundaries were quite short. Even the bowlers who bowled quick, their strengths are all about going full and going for yorkers, and when it doesn't, then it tends to be hit down the ground. I think overall 300 would have been fantastic, and we had a chance but we couldn't quite do it,” said Dhoni.

Ravindra Jadeja, who was declared man-of-the-match, said he felt very happy to have done something for the team. “I just wanted to play till the last ball, but unfortunately we didn't cross the line. We have learned a lot from this game. I think we bowled well, but the short straight boundaries caused problems,” said Jadeja.

New Zeland captain Brendon McCullum said, “I thought it was a brilliant game of cricket. India showed why they are one of the powerhouses of India cricket. We thought we had a powerful score, but I guess that wasn't the case. They did well to get as close as they did. We had a few opportunities at the end which we didn't take, which does hurt.”

“Credit to India for standing up and not lying down at any stage and keep us on our toes. I thought our guys bowled pretty well. We missed a few times, but that is the nature of ODIs. There was a bit of sloppiness in there, but it is hard to fault what was a brilliant game of cricket,” said the skipper.