'No psychological advantage in T20'

 According to MS Dhoni, Sri Lanka’s unflattering record in ICC tournament finals -- they have lost four finals in the last seven years -- didn’t give India a psychological advantage.

“In this format, I don’t think psychological advantage really matters,” said the Indian skipper here on Saturday. “The difference between the good sides is very narrow the reason being it’s such a short format. I feel it all boils down to how well you have played on that particular day and how the individuals respond to a particular situation. I think that will be crucial, it’s not about what we have done in the past. I don’t personally believe in stats, so it will depend on if we can replicate what we have done in the tournament so far then we have got a very good chance,” he noted.

The semifinal against South Africa, Dhoni felt, tested the team. “As far as the last game is concerned, I thought, we were really tested to some extent; the reason being in most of the games we were chasing near 140 and this was the only game where we were chasing more than 170. There was a bit of calmness in the dressing room, but we had the belief that we could chase it down because the wicket also was playing slightly better. Overall it was a good test.”

India have tasted success both chasing and defending targets and Dhoni wasn’t too concerned what they get to do in the final. “If you see in the last two-three years, we have emerged as a team that chases well,” he pointed out. “But if you look back, in the past 75 years, we had been a team that preferred setting targets irrespective of the conditions and the format we played. I think we got experience on both counts. But at the same time, I don’t think there will much difference between chasing or setting target unless there is dew or there is vast difference in conditions or if the wicket is damp in the first innings,” he analysed.