)
Set to begin their cricket World Cup campaign with a high-voltage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan here tomorrow, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said that his players were well equipped to tackle pressure situations as they have "calm nerves" and the experience of playing in big matches.
"What's brilliant about this team is you don't need to calm nerves. They've got a fair amount of experience, all of them. They have been playing ODI cricket for quite some time. They are also part of IPL squads, which means they are quite used to playing in front of 40,000, 50,000 people, and also big games like the quarters, semis, and all of that, and they have played different tournaments," Dhoni told mediapersons at the match-eve press conference.
"They have played Asia Cup and all of that. I feel there's nothing that's really needed from outside, and most of them are experienced when it comes to handling tense situations," said Dhoni, speaking highly of his young brigade.
Ask about any pressure of maintaining India's all-win record against Pakistan in World Cup, Dhoni made it clear that he would not care for numbers and statistics. Rather, he said it will give an opportunity to his players to raise their level of performance.
"We have to try our best, and that's what it's all about. It's not really about stats. As far as the preparation in the dressing room is concerned, it looks just fantastic. When we play Pakistan, there's definitely more intensity on the field, and with a lot of fans being around, I think it will be a perfect scenario for everyone to raise their level of performance," Dhoni said.
"I think what's important is to know our position well. What will be important for us will be to execute our plans as normally against every side. Whatever plans you have, if you can execute them, definitely you will create problems for the opposition. Irrespective of where the stats lie, what's most important for us will be execution part because we have got quite a few plans," said the 33-year-old wicketkeeper batsman.
