India advanced to the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20 for the first time since 2007, but to M.S. Dhoni that alone is little cause for exultation.
“If you’re just considering getting into the semifinals, what do you do once you reach there?” he asked. “Should you be happy and just stay there and say: ‘Okay, we’ve reached the semifinals; we don’t really want to play it’?”
Conditions had helped his bowlers, Dhoni said. “We have struggled in limited-overs matches when wickets have been good to bat on but haven’t supported spin. If there’s not much lateral movement, our bowlers bowl at the right pace to get hit. Here’s there’s a bit of purchase for the spinners. When conditions favour us, our bowlers become very exciting.”
The team has evidently managed to keep other matters from affecting the dressing room. “You have to be focussed when you’re representing your country,” Dhoni said. “That’s one of the things this team has done well. We’ve kept the atmosphere really nice.”
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim lamented another poor batting display. “We needed at least 150,” he said. “The batsmen who got set didn’t play big innings.”
