|
Hyderabad: “You had the chance to smile in Australia,” was Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s prompt reply when an Australian journalist commented about the smile on his face, at the post-match media conference, here, on Tuesday.
The following are excerpts
On his record 22 Test wins as captain…
I think it’s over-rated and much-hyped. As I see the dressing room now, I don’t see anyone of us really interested about who has won how many matches. The important thing is to win Test matches. The more consistent we are, better it is for the side. Numbers don’t really matter. Now, our objective is to win the next two Tests.
On the nature of the Hyderabad wicket…
It was a good wicket… A typical subcontinental wicket. There was bounce and movement earlier for pacers. For the spinners, though, there was turn only after the ball became older and soft. Normally people say spinners are able to get the turn when the ball is new and hard. We needed some time to understand that. But overall, it was a good wicket…
If things are finally falling in place…
Against England, we were not putting enough runs on board for bowlers to be aggressive. All these things play a crucial part, as you can’t just rely on your batting or bowling. If you score runs, bowlers will automatically bowl well. And if you bowl well, it makes things easier for the batters. All these things count, as we need to play as a unit. Besides, our fifth-bowler strategy too has been working as of now.
Whether it was demoralising after a spate of away losses to England and Australia…
Yeah… It becomes tough. You start questioning yourself. All of us are human beings and the ones who say that they don’t bother are lying simply because if you go through a tough situation, these things are bound to happen. You will feel the pressure, for sure. But at the end of the day, you want to do well for your country. You just have to remain focused and keep negative thoughts away. You need to play a few deliveries and then start feeling the comfort.
Whether Team India are enjoying the home advantage…
The question we face while touring to England or Australia is why we don’t play on sporting tracks. One needs to realise that 80 per cent of our cricket that we play is at home. So we have to be really good in these conditions. And then when we play abroad, the conditions are extremely different, which becomes a challenge. That’s what makes Test cricket challenging. If pitches everywhere go on to be the same, the challenge will no longer remain.
If he has any advice for Clarke…
I would just like to say that screaming won’t help. However, you need to respect your opponents in whatever situation they are. Now, Australians don’t need advice since they are anyhow extremely competitive. They are capable of making a comeback. Whatever the result might be there have been some positives for them. They have a pool of players who have played in the subcontinent. And when they come back to play in places like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, they will be better equipped to handle those conditions. It’s more of a win-win situation for them. They just need to be patient.
If Pujara’s ‘real test’ will be in South Africa…
I always believe in living in the present. Pujara has set his standards. But he needs to enjoy the moment. That will be my suggestion. And I think we should focus on how he has batted in this game. He has played brilliantly in this series so far...
On Harbhajan’s comeback…
Senior players are under more pressure to deliver. Harbhajan, though, has shown improvement. Now, we may have to choose horses for courses… Having two off-spinners against a team with so many left-handers helps.
Whether Sehwag will be there in Mohali…
That’s a difficult question to answer. We’ll be having a meeting regarding team selection. So I don’t want to comment on this issue. We’ve to assess the situation. We won’t be playing too many Tests before the South Africa series.
| 
