India may not have superstars in their ranks, but new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that the team's success in the Twenty20 World Cup has been because of individuals who have played their part in building up a cohesive unit.
DURBAN: India may not have superstars in their ranks, but new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that the team's success in the Twenty20 World Cup has been because of individuals who have played their part in building up a cohesive unit.
India stunned Australia by 15 runs to set up a dream final with arch-rivals Pakistan on Monday.
"Every win is important. This is a new team and it is a huge stage. This is the first Twenty20 World Cup. The teams we have beaten here are strong teams. Every match has been a do or die match for us, it has been quite exhausting and there has been a lot of tension.
"Each and every guy is enjoying himself, not just his own success but also each others' performances. There are no superstars in this team," said Dhoni after leading India to one of its biggest achievements in the cricketing field in recent times.
The new skipper was full of praise for S. Sreesanth's brilliant spell and getting the key wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.
"Sreesanth lifted his game when it mattered. That's what the need of the team is. He needs to click at the right time, which he did today. I would love it for him to perform in the same way in the final too."
Dhoni revealed that Harbhajan Singh had himself volunteered to bowl the crucial 18th over when Australia needed 30 runs in the last 3 overs.
"He wanted the responsibility, he wanted the ball because he had the confidence. And he got us a wicket (Michael Clarke)."
On bowling Joginder Sharma in the last over, he said, "I thought of bowling him at the end, when the batsmen were also under pressure, and see how they handle him. He is not the quickest, but he has the quality and he proved it today."
Looking ahead to the dream final against Pakistan, Dhoni made it clear that India's bowl-out win in the first phase will now have no meaning.
"That is immaterial now. This is the biggest stage, a World Cup final. India vs Pakistan in Johannesburg, where there will be huge support for both teams. It could be very exciting and the pressure will be immense, but not on us. It is a match that needs to be played with intense intensity.
"But there is no point in taking additional pressure because it can bring down the confidence of a player and affect his performance. We are playing each other more frequently of late, so the teams are getting used to each other and are aware of the respective strategies."
Gautam Gambhir (24) cut Brett Lee past point for a boundary in the very first over besides hitting two more in the fourth over bowled by Bracken before holing out to Brad Hodge while trying to pull Johnson.
Uthappa displayed the right intent and also had the luck of the brave when Michael Clarke dropped a difficult overhead catch at backward point off Stuart Clark when he was on five.
But he did well to keep attacking and got his first six when he pulled Andrew Symonds over mid-wicket.
He did well to keep feeding Yuvraj with the strike before he himself got going in the 15th over smashing two consecutive sixes off Bracken over long-off and over mid-wicket.
Unfortunately, he was run out in a bad mix up with Yuvraj in the next delivery.
Yuvraj took guard in the 9th over and the way he batted, it looked like he was in the same mood, and form that saw him hit six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad against England. He send the second ball he faced over mid-wicket for his first six off Clarke in the ninth over.
In the next over, he dismissed Lee with a flick for his second six. His third came off Symonds over mid-wicket and the fourth one, a pull over mid-wicket off Clark in the 14th over, gave him his half century. It took him just 20 balls and he hit four sixes and three fours.
Yuvraj hit his fifth six off Clarke in the 18th over before being caught in the deep in the same over. He came back to a standing ovation with even the Aussies joining in the applause.
Dhoni then finished off the innings in great style sending the ball all over the park for four fours. He also hit a six off Nathan Bracken in the 19th over.
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