Birmingham: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has achieved a unique feat by captaining India to victories in three top International Cricket Council tournaments — the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, the 2011 World Cup and now the Champions Trophy.
It is an achievement which will be remembered for a long time, so as he settled down to share the glory of Sunday’s final win over England and how he went about it, Gulf News asked him two questions: How different was this team from the Twenty20 and 2011 World Cup? And is there anything left for him to achieve as captain?
Dhoni usually answers the first question and forgets the second and asks for it to be repeated, but in this case he answered the second question first. “I never turn up on the field to achieve something as a captain. For me, winning the game is very important and that is of utmost importance for us as a team.”
Dhoni then went on to answer the first question: “I feel the first Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 that we won and this tournament that we have won, there is a bit of similarity. There were quite a number of players who were making their comebacks into the team in 2007, so they wanted to do well desperately and be part of the team. In this team too, there are a few who wanted to do well and have a secondary position on the side.
“The 2011 World Cup I think it was the right mix. We had very experienced players and some of them felt it could be their last World Cup because of age and everything. So I think, and also the fact that it was happening in India, we all wanted to do well because the expectation was too much. We just wanted to express ourselves. I think there are huge similarities between 2007 and this team.”
Dhoni then went on to explain how he went about motivating his players once the match was reduced from a 50-over contest to a 20-over game.
“Before going out [to field] I said ‘let’s first of all get rid of the feeling that it’s a 50-over game. It’s a 20-over game and we have seen in the Indian Premier League and other T20 formats, 130 runs can be a difficult target to achieve’. Secondly I said ‘nobody look to the left of the pavilion’. That’s the side that the rain was coming from, so I said ‘God is not coming to save us. If you want to win this trophy, we’ll have to fight it out. We are the number one-ranked ODI side, so let’s make sure that they have to fight for these 130-odd runs. Don’t look for any outside help’.”
When asked whether there is an extra pleasure in having beaten England in the final at their home to lift the trophy, as India were thrashed during their last tour here, Dhoni said: “For me opposition is just another opposition. It doesn’t really matter if we had beaten England in the final or some of the other sides, because if you start looking at the opposition and particular teams, then you may find it difficult. But it’s the same. It doesn’t matter who we have beaten, but the thing is we have beaten all of them quite well.”
