Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly glad that the tension of the traditional Indo-Pak rivalry has finally eased ahead of their World Twenty20 clash on Friday.
The bitter South Asian rivals have fought three wars in their brief independent histories and remain deeply mistrustful of each other, while cricketers from both countries have performed under unnerving pressure from unforgiving fans.
According to Sport24, the India-Pakistan match will begin the Super 10 stage of the fifth World T20 although Dhoni is glad that the game would begin without the 'hysteria' of the past, during when such a clash always caught the imagination of people from either side.
Stating that he feels the tension has mellowed to some extent whatever the reason may be, Dhoni said that nowadays instead of many altercations on the field, one gets to see good competitive cricket, adding that it is important that cricket is played in the true spirit.
Although Dhoni admitted that he used to enjoy on-field friction among players from both sides, he however, said that things used to very tense sometimes with plenty of things happening apart from cricket on the field.
Dhoni also said he is glad the tension has finally eased as in order to promote cricket in the right way, it is necessary to play in the right spirit.