India's semi-final match against arch rivals Pakistan was billed as the "mother of all clashes" and generated tremendous media frenzy and the 29-run victory triggered passionate celebrations across the country.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has cautioned his teammates not to get carried away by the excessive hype ahead of their World Cup final against Sri Lanka and stick to their basic job of playing "good cricket"
India's semi-final match against arch rivals Pakistan was billed as the "mother of all clashes" and generated tremendous media frenzy and the 29-run victory triggered passionate celebrations across the country.
"There'll be plenty of things happening around us, like in this game, but what's important is not to get distracted. We all know what our jobs are as professional cricketers so we'll stick to that and try to play good cricket," Dhoni said.
"The Sri Lankans have a good side and they have done really well in the tournament. We have to play good cricket to beat them. We have to be at our best", he said.
Dhoni said the format of the tournament had helped his team and the young players were slowly coming into the groove.
"The format's really helped us. We had quite a few close games where the youngsters were really tested at the crease. I think slowly they're getting into the groove. That will hold the team in good stead," he said.
On how he planned to motivate his team for the summit showdown, Dhoni said "You do not need to motivate, it is not required when you are representing your country. We are playing the World Cup and we all want to win it."
Dhoni admitted that he had "misread" the pitch and that was one of the reasons why spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was left out.
Dhoni said the track was not a typical Mohali wicket which generally assist the quickies and he had opted to include pacer Ashish Nehra to give the team more bowling options.
"We misread the wicket. It was not a normal Mohali track. It usually does not help the spinner, but it did today. Our spinners really bowled very well and that really put pressure on them," he said.
"Pakistan players play spin very well, that is why we thought to go with a 3-2 combination. We felt it was a safer option, since we have part-timers such as Sachin (Tendulkar), virat (Kohli) and Raina."
After a blazing start, India could manage 260 for nine after winning the toss and Dhoni said it was a good score though not a safe one.
"I felt after the end of the first innings 260 was a good score, I wouldn't say it was a safe score because it was important not to give away too many runs with the new ball," he said.
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