MS Dhoni said he was happy with his bowlers even though Pakistan scored nearly 300 in Karachi on Thursday.

"It was a tremmendous track to bat on and I am happy with the way the bowlers bowled, even though Pakistan scored 299," Dhoni told STAR Cricket after the match.

Pakistani openers Shoiab Malik and Salman Butt were struggling against the Indian new ball bowlers, barely able to get the scoreboard ticking.

Dhoni said he always thought 299 was chaseable on a track as helpful to batsmen as the one in Karachi. "I was confident we would be able to chase it down, given the kind of batting we have and the track that was on offer."

Pakistan lost strike bowler Umar Gul early in the Indian innings and that was a major set back for the team. To add to their woes, their captain, Malik had to stay out of the ground for the first few overs of the Indian innings after his unbeaten 125 not out off 119 in clearly trying conditions.

Gul's absence, though, would have hurt Pakistan the most and Dhoni admitted as much. "Yes, Pakistan would have missed Gul. It was a struggle for Shoaib but good for us"

India now go into the second round with a huge advantage, two points clear of Pakistan, who now have to win all their three games in the coming stage.

Dhoni said he would want to win all the remaining matches and storm into the final: "We would like to win all three games from here and carry on the momentum."

India dropped a couple of catches towards the fag end of the Pakistani innings but the Indian captain appeared unperturbed by all of it: "The boys are trying hard and I can't complain. These things happen in cricket."

Meanwhile, Pakistani captain Malik, who scored a sensational century to put his side in a commanding position said the whole joy of the ton was washed away with the defeat.

"It is not easy to enjoy a century when your team loses and especially when you are the captain."

He too rued having lost Gul early in the innings and then lacking a quality spinner: "We lost our main strike bowler and then did not have a good spinner to put the brakes in the middle over."

"However, we have good bowlers in the side and they will win it for us."