By Abhishek Roy, IANS,
Mumbai : Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels his team has peaked at the right time for Saturday’s World Cup final against Sri Lanka but said his boys are yet to play to their full potential in the tournament.
“There is plenty more to come from us. We gained momentum as the tournament went on and we are now peaking at the right time,” said Dhoni Friday on the eve of the all-Asian World Cup final.
Dhoni said his team has picked up the momentum from the knock-out stages, during which they defeated World champions Australia and then Pakistan in the quarterfinal and the semifinal.
The Indian captain added that back-to-back knock-out games were not a problem for his team and in fact helped them to stay focused.
“The good thing is that we did not have a long break after the semifinal. We travelled from Mohali yesterday, practised today and will play the match tomorrow. It does not give anyone time to think too far ahead or worry about the future,” he said.
Dhoni said that his team was not under any pressure of playing the final in front of the home crowd.
“We are not thinking about tomorrow’s game as a final, for us every match is a challenge and just as important. In the end you have to play the same way and do the right things to succeed.
“Of course we realise this is a World Cup final. It can’t get bigger than this, but our preparations have to be the same. We want to do well in a tournament like this because it is held in India and we never know when we would get another opportunity like this,” said Dhoni, adding that he would not mind his boys taking a few sleeping pills to ease the anxiety.
On the expectations from 1.21 billion Indian fans, Dhoni said: “To give you an example, I was swapping channels and they showed fans rejoicing outside my home in Ranchi after we won against Pakistan. It was the same place where a few unwarranted things happened during 2007. That’s what really happens in India and it is better to be at your best.”
Asked if Sri Lanka had the advantage as they beat New Zealand by a huge 112-run margin here in a league match, while India will be playing their first World Cup match at Wankhede, Dhoni said: “We practised two-and-a-half hours in the middle today, so we are quite familiar with the wicket and know what to expect.”
On the team’s feeling when they checked into the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, which was attacked during the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai, Dhoni said: “It was an emotional moment as to what happened there. But the hotel staff greeted us warmly. We will certainly remember the day, but we have to stay calm and composed and focused on our job.”
Having led the team to triumph at the inaugural 2007 World Twenty20 and the No.1 Test side in 2009, Dhoni said winning the World Cup will not be a personal milestone.
“This is a team sport and here you don’t think individually. The success of the Indian team changed after the 1983 World Cup win and since then every two or three years we had a player, who was special enough. And then came the new era of players with Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, who performed extremely well in the 2003 World Cup and the latest generation of players came with the 2007 World Twenty20. For captains it is all about the team and how different individuals respond to different challenges,” he said.