India well prepared for pressure games - Dhoni

 

One of the most important benefits from India's scrappy World Cup semi-final victory over Pakistan - apart from the sound and sight of a hundred firecrackers going out around the PCA stadium on a Mohali night and the adoration of millions - is their team's sense of being in what captain MS Dhoni equated to a good spell.

Dhoni said the format of the World Cup had helped the Indians get to a stage just before the final where off-field distractions and on-field pressures could both be handled. "The format really helped us. We have had quite a few close games where we were tested. Some of the youngsters were tested. They were at the crease at a time when a big performance was needed from them. Slowly they are getting into the groove."

Dhoni said India's performances in the knockouts had given the team a greater sense of comfort going into the final, with regard to the pressures of the event. He compared the last week of the World Cup to a bowler bowling at more than 150kph. "Once you do that you don't think whether you are bowling 155 or 160. So I think after the semis, the final won't feel much different. The feeling (of the importance of a game) has been static for a while and hopefully that will really help us."

In the semi-final, Dhoni said the Indians had read the wicket incorrectly in deciding to opt for a 3-1 attack, replacing offspinner R Ashwin with left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra. It was driven, he said, by India's part-time options as well as Pakistani batsmen generally being at ease against spin. "We can manoeuvre with the part-timers. We thought on a normal Mohali pitch, you don't see assistance to spinners. The ball doesn't turn big time. Here the ball was stopping.