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‘Opening stand was crucial’

Principal Correspondent

Karachi: “All I knew was that we had to win this match, don’t ask me about the format and related aspects,” quipped M.S. Dhoni in a lighter vein during the press conference after defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in a crucial STAR Asia Cup semifinal league cricket match here on Thursday night.

Switching to a serious note, the Indian skipper gave credit to the opening blitz of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir that helped India make light of a 300-plus target.

“Earlier, if a team was supposed to chase 300, they used to look flustered, but now if 300 is to be chased, the team is actually quite relaxed during the break because in the whole tournament we have seen 300 being scored and chased. The partnership between Sehwag and Gambhir played an important role while chasing such a big total. They have given us consistent starts all through this tournament,” Dhoni said.

He added that the bowling effort was much better in this match.

“R.P. Singh, Ishant and Pragyan bowled well, but on these pitches, the margin for error is minimal,” Dhoni said.

On his own fitness that was under visible strain in the back-to-back matches, he said, “I am going ahead on reserve energy!”

A different game

Looking ahead to Sunday’s final against Sri Lanka, Dhoni said: “It is a different game and we have to start from the scratch. Yes it does give us a lot of confidence that we have been chasing totals around 300 often in this tournament. Hopefully, we can pull it off in the final.”

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan skipper, Mahela Jayawardene, said that the loss to India would not affect the way his team perceives the final.

“It’s how we play on that day that matters and overall I am happy with our consistency in both batting and bowling all through the tournament. May be the loss here will help us to concentrate harder in the final.

“They have some young batsmen who take their chances, let us see how they come up when under pressure in the final,” Jayawardene said.

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