“We have to get back to normal,” the Indian Test vice-captain said on Tuesday. “Perth was a big win. But it doesn’t matter how well you’ve done on a ground, it depends on how you play those five days and how many consecutive sessions you win. Perth has given us confidence, and if you look at the statistics, we’ve done well here. It also helps the spinners.”

Asked if winning here would be a moral victory over the Australians, Dhoni replied, “Yes, it will be. Coming here and not letting them beat us will be a good result. We have played tough cricket and if we can draw the series, it will give us confidence for the remaining matches.”

Composition
The remaining matches, of course, are the Twenty20 international against Australia and the tri-series with Sri Lanka as the third team. Refusing to discuss the composition of the one-day team, Dhoni countered suggestions that Sourav Ganguly’s omission might affect the team by saying, “It has affected the journalists more than us!”

Dhoni said the think-tank had yet to decide whether to play five bowlers. “If you play five bowlers, you are sacrificing a batsman. You have to assess the way the batsman are playing,” observed Dhoni. “It’s a pleasure to play five bowlers, where everyone has the capacity to be a spearhead. But you have to make a lot of compromise to leave out the extra batsman.”

Enjoying the added bounce at Perth, Dhoni said, “In the first two Tests, the pitches were quite like Indian. At Perth there was more pace and bounce. Hopefully this will have more bounce than the first two. It’s good because the ball comes on to the bat and you can leave the ball on bounce. There are attacking fields and as a batsman you can cash in. Also, as ’keeper, because of the bounce you get more time to get to the nicks.”

Stressing the need to enjoy the game, Dhoni said, “This team is enjoying its cricket now. With the amount of pressure in India, it’s very important to enjoy the game. Cricket is after all a sport. You must enjoy not just your success but your colleague’s and the team’s success.”

Anil Kumble’s understudy has picked up a lot from his current captain, as well as former captains in the team.
“Communication is very important. When somebody misses out, it is necessary to convey to him why he wasn’t picked. Anil is very clear about his mindset, about what he expects from the team. Strategy and all, having played for 18 years, he is good at it. And he has handled controversies pretty well too!

“I have learnt a lot not just from Anil but from the other former captains also because of the number of games they have played. You learn from what they think about the game in crucial situations. It is all about being open-minded.”