Enjoying his tryst with destiny, newly-crowned Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes the "self-belief, commitment and desire" shown by his teammates has worked wonders for them in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup.
His inexperience as a captain notwithstanding, Dhoni exhibited glimpses of his leadership ability by appealing his team mates not to take pressure but play with free minds. And the young Indian team followed the leader to find themselves among the last four in the tournament.
"Nobody really gave us a chance when we came to South Africa. So, I think, this was our destiny. But we made our own destiny by playing as a unit and giving more than hundred percent on the field in every department," Dhoni said on Friday.
"If you remember, at the start of the tournament I had said that I want my team to enjoy the game and express themselves freely on the field. Because when you take the pressure of a big game and start worrying about the results, it does affect your performance. So, I told my team not to take any pressure, which is what they did.
"There was a lot of self-belief, confidence, commitment and desire shown by the players. We dared to be aggressive and we backed our instincts and we got the results," explained Dhoni.
Without actually stressing on the degree of difficulty his team would have to face in taking on a champion side like Australia in the semi-final, Dhoni wants his team to stay focused and give the best.
"At this level, it's as much about your confidence as your skill. And you got to translate that confidence into good performances. It's a fast paced game and it takes a lot out of you. As long as my team gives their hundred percent and back themselves without worrying too much about whom they are playing, that's more than enough for me," he said.
Dhoni's hands-on captaincy has made him an inspiring leader who considers himself first among equals.
"It all about playing together as a unit. How well the team jells is important. As a captain you can only take decisions but how they respond to make it work is up to the players," he said.
Talking about his team's pleasantly surprising run in the tournament, the 26-year-old Indian captain praised his colleagues for sticking to the gameplan and giving their best.
"There have been contributions from everyone. Experienced players like Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag came good with the bat and that inspired a youngster like Rohit Sharma to go out and play like he did in his first knock for India. Gautam Gambhir has been good at the top. Yuvraj's six sixes were amazing and he knocked out England," he said.
"Against South Africa, RP Singh bowled a great spell to pick those early wickets and put them under pressure. Irfan Pathan too has been bowling pretty confidently right through. S Sreesanth too was firing on all cylinders.
"Harbhajan Singh has been my trump card. He has bowled brilliantly in the death overs and even taken crucial wickets. In fact he, Sehwag and Pathan have done a great job in their comeback tournament," Dhoni said.
Dhoni expressed satisfaction over his team's fielding abilities, which has shown marked improvement in the tournament, and hoped that his side would keep up its good work in the final phase of the tournament.
"The media was too harsh on our fielders but over the course of the week they have shown significant improvement and raised the bar. Yesterday, Dinesh Karthik's catch was stunning and the Rohit Sharma's run out of Justin Kemp was amazing.
"As a captain, I couldn't have asked for more. My team gave me no room to complain and made my job easy. I expect them to maintain the same effort level and intensity in the remaining games," he said.
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