Birmingham: Mahendra Singh Dhoni acknowledges that England are a very good side. But on the eve of the Champions Trophy final, he is also confident about his batsmen being capable enough to rise to the English challenge.

The following are excerpts

Mood in the Indian camp

At present we are looking at Sunday’s game. It’s a very important game. But in this tournament, you only face the best of teams. So I think it will be a good contest. England are a very good side. They know the conditions quite well. I think it will be a good game… Very good for the spectators. That’s what we want to do as cricketers, we want to entertain the crowd. So it will be good.

Keeping a clear head ahead of the big match

Well, we prepare in the same way for the final as we did for the semi-final. So I think the preparation remains the same, and that’s what our emphasis is on. We want to prepare well and then go into the game.

On how crucial would be the first 10 overs

I think so far in this tournament that’s what we have seen. If you get off to a very good start, batting or bowling, you are able to put pressure on the opposition.. So I think the first 10 overs are very crucial, both to the batting and the bowling side.

If they will be going for a big total

Well, it all depends whether we are looking to bat first or bat second. A lot of that depends on the weather and what kind of a wicket it is. But still, as I said, it’s very important to deal with the first 10 overs.

Whether the untested middle-order is a concern

What could have been done? I think the best that we could have managed was to give the guys who have not batted a bit of extra batting in the practice session. That’s what we have done so far.

If Ravindra Jadeja, the spinner, is fast catching up with the team’s No.1 spinner Ravichandran Ashwin

Well, can you have two No. 1s in the same team? It’s always wrong. I think it all depends on the last game. Whoever takes more wickets, often people try to say he’s your first spinner and the other one is the second. But what’s important is to realise that they are a bowling unit. I think it’s very important that they hunt as a pair. Both of them are really crucial for each other’s success and for the success of the team.

On the Indian bowlers

Well, we have exploited the conditions well and we have bowled in the right areas, which I feel is very important. But still, bowling is a concern for us. We have not gone through the depth where the opposition had wickets in hand and had a go at our bowlers.

The England top order, which has faced criticism for slow batting

Well, I think they’ve played proper cricket, and often you need to see how the game is going, how the tournament is progressing. But to say whether the approach was right or not, it’s not for me to decide. As a team you want to win. That’s one thing that you desperately want to do.

On the English pace attack, led by James Anderson

Well, I think England are a very good team, especially the bowlers. What we are excited about is the fact our top order has done well and also the fact they have played some of the best bowlers in world cricket so far in the tournament. I think they are quite well prepared for the English bowlers…

Views on DRS, which has helped India a few times in this tournament

You’ll have to wait and watch. I still don’t like it. But it’s there to take the blunders away from the game. So we’ll have to wait and watch how it goes.

Importance of the toss

Well, it depends on the day. If it’s bright and sunny, I don’t think the toss will have that much of an impact, but if it’s overcast and you had a bit of rain before the start of the game, then it may have an impact on the game.

On the weather

As far as the weather is concerned, it has been quite unpredictable, so we’ll wait until Sunday. We’ll see what the prediction is like. The weather has proved the predictions wrong at times.

If India’s good show in Champions Trophy makes up for poor the performances in the 2011 Test series here

Our performance wasn’t really great in the Tests in 2011. Of course we were hampered by lots of injuries. But I think the ODI performance was good...I think what’s important is to accept the fact that yes, we didn’t do really well in that series.

The 30th anniversary of India’s 1983 World Cup win being a couple of days away

1983 was a very special year for us. I would like to wish each and every person who was part of that team… Thanks for giving us the World Cup.