Mahendra Singh Dhoni was soaking in everything with his usual calm demeanour before attributing Chennai Super Kings' seventh IPL final appearance to "dressing room atmosphere", a far cry from the awe that was best summed up a popular teammate's groovy tribute.
Coming back after a two-year ban, two-time champions CSK last night pulled off a thrilling two-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to make the final of the cash-rich league, with Faf du Plessis leading the chase.
"We have been a very good team over the past ten seasons, but it's more about the dressing room atmosphere," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
The two-time World Cup winning captain added, "And you can't do that without the players and the support staff. And if atmosphere is not good, then players go to different directions. But somehow, we have managed to keep our boys on track."
"Always happy when we win. Being in the top two gives you that liberty to have one more game."
It's good to win a game like this, but what's more important, is knowing how we can improve."