India captain Dhoni keen to maintain World Cup dominance over Pakistan

Joy Chakravarty 17:03 14/02/2015
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  • Leading from the front: MS Dhoni.

    Five straight wins in Cricket World Cup over Pakistan counts for nothing for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

    The Indian captain feels that more than what happened in the past, it is the attitude of the current players that matter when the two traditional rivals meet in the most anticipated match of the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

    When asked about the record in his pre-match press conference yesterday, Dhoni said: “The only thing that matters is you have to answer a lot of questions regarding that. Apart from that, frankly it doesn’t really matter.

    “The reason being we are talking about a span of 20 years, maybe even more. The format has changed, the players have changed. The way the game is approached, that has completely changed. It’s just something nice to talk about. More than that, I don’t think it really has any impact on the game.”

    Dhoni felt that his team, which failed to win a single match of their tour of Australia leading up to the World Cup, was well prepared to handle the unique pressures of an India-Pakistan encounter.

    “It’s one of the most prized games when it comes to the ODI format. All in all I think it’s a perfect scenario to start, and the guys have got enough experience in the conditions,” said Dhoni, who smashed the winning shot – a six – in India’s 2011 final victory.

    “We have to try our best, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s not really about stats. As far as the preparation in the dressing room is concerned, it looks just fantastic.

    “When we play Pakistan there’s definitely more intensity on the field, and with a lot of fans being around, I think it will be a perfect scenario for everyone to raise their level of performance.

    “What’s brilliant about this team is you don’t need to calm nerves. They’ve got a fair amount of experience, all of them. They have been playing ODI cricket for quite some time. They are also part of IPL squads, which means they are quite used to playing in front of 40,000, 50,000 people, and also big games like the quarters, semis, and all of that.

    “They have played Asia Cup and all of that. I feel there’s nothing that’s really needed from outside, and most of them are experienced when it comes to handling tense situations.”

    Dhoni said he was happy to announce that there was no injury concern in the team.

    “We don’t have any injuries in the squad. Yes, Ishant is the only one who’s missing. It has been a long summer for us over here, so that’s a positive sign, and the players have been here for quite some time, so they know the condition well,” he added.

    The Indian captain insisted he was happy with the way his bowlers had practiced for death bowling, but said “drastic improvement” was needed in stopping boundaries.

    “Well, the morale has been up. If you see, there were instances where they went for runs, but at the same time there were good performances by bowlers,” he said.

    “Also against Australia, Glenn Maxwell went for the bowling and he was able to score freely. But what happens is, it actually helped them reassess their plans. All in all, they are looking good.

    “We had a couple of practice sessions in the center wicket and they (the bowlers) made the most out of it. The yorker bowling was really good by all fast bowlers, and variations at the same time, the slower bouncer, the bouncer in the slog overs and all that stuff. So, they are looking good.

    “Where we drastically need to improve is not giving boundary – opportunity of boundary balls, easy boundary balls in the first 10 overs when the ball is new and the batsmen, they can actually use your pace.”

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