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We have got calm nerves: Dhoni

Last Updated 14 February 2015, 19:47 IST

Whether it’s to mask the tension or a show of bravado, we often here players from India and Pakistan offer the same answer that a match between the two arch-rivals is just another clash. You know as well as the players do that it’s not a complete truth.

Skipper MS Dhoni, however, deviated from the beaten path and admitted that an India-Pakistan match isn’t just another match. “How much ever we might say that it is the same as any other match, it is a little different,” said Dhoni here on Saturday. “… But we try to make sure that that ‘little different’ that we are talking about can be kept as nominal as possible. India-Pakistan is a high-stake match, we try to keep the margin as nominal as possible and also, it’s a sport. One team will win and one will lose. We will try to focus on our plans and their execution and if things don’t go according to plan, we look at how quickly to adapt in the centre. Those are the key factors,” he remarked.

India have an unbeaten record against Pakistan in the World Cup in their five meetings but Dhoni didn’t attack too much importance to those stats. “I think what's important is to know our position well,” Dhoni began. “I'm not somebody who believes greatly in stats, so what will be important for us will be to execute our plans as normally against every side. That's a key factor. Whatever plans you have, if you can execute them then definitely you will create problems for the opposition executing is something that we have lacked to some extent. So hopefully we'll start executing well,” he analysed.

India’s winning run against Pakistan began in 1992 when Australia-New Zealand hosted the World Cup 23 years ago but Dhoni saw nothing significant in it. “It doesn't really matter, frankly speaking,” Dhoni stressed. “The reason being, we are talking about a span of 20 years maybe or even more. The format has changed, the players have changed. The way the game is approached, that has completely changed. It's just something nice to talk about. More than that, I don't think it really has any impact on the game.”

While there are many players who will be playing Pakistan for the first time in a World Cup, Dhoni said they didn’t need any advice or pep talk. “What's brilliant about this team is you don't need to calm nerves,” he noted. “They've got a fair amount of experience, all of them. They have been playing ODI cricket for quite some time. They are also part of the IPL squad, which means they are quite used to playing in front of 40,000, 50,000 people, and also the big games like the quarters, semis, and all of that, and they have played different tournaments. They have played Asia Cup and all of that. I feel there's nothing that's really needed from outside, and most of them are experienced when it comes to handling tense situations,” he offered.
DH News Service

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(Published 14 February 2015, 19:47 IST)

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