press trust of india
Melbourne, March 19: Hailing India’s transformation from a struggling side to red-hot favourites to defend the cricket World Cup title, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni attributed the brilliant seven-match unbeaten run to team effort and fixing ‘small things right’.
“It has been good, we can’t shy away from the fact that we are playing some good cricket. A lot of credit needs to go to the boys and the support staff,” Dhoni stated here after the game, Thursday.
Dhoni however, could not pinpoint any particular reason for the sudden transformation. “It’s difficult to zone on the exact reason for this change. Not many players from our side are in the top run-scorers’ list, but they have all made important contributions. The bowlers have exceeded all expectations. Even the fielding has been sharp. So there has been an overall improvement,” pointed out Dhoni.
Man of the match Rohit Sharma described his innings as one of the best tons in his career. “I think it will be right up there (on top),” he said when asked to rate his century. “It was a very important knock from the team perspective. I think the partnership with (Suresh) Raina was very crucial. He changed the momentum of the game and allowed me to pace my innings,” stated Rohit.
Raina was all praise for Rohit whom he described as a big match player. “It is always exciting to bat with Rohit. He is a big match player and he showed it today (Thursday). It also shows that he is taking the responsibility,” said Raina. “We are not thinking who is going to be our semifinal opponents. We are just going to enjoy for the night,” he added.
