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We played for each other, says Dhoni

G. Viswanath

MUMBAI: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni attributed the World Cup success of the team to the intense character of the individual players.

“We played for each other. We thought of playing a good World Cup one year ago. We wanted the key players to be in form and fit and it's because of that we have achieved the big success today. I love one-day cricket because of the variety it brings in a single day,'' said Dhoni.

He said he promoted himself to bat at No. 5 to keep the left-right combination going.

“Moreover, I wanted to deal with Muttiah Muralitharan. I know his doosra very well. I also wanted to rotate the strike with Gautam Gambhir with whom I have combined well even while we were playing for India ‘A'.''

Outstanding player

Dhoni also paid handsome tribute to ‘player of the tournament' Yuvraj Singh's contribution.

“When he's in form, he's always been consistent and outstanding. That's what he has done in this tournament. We have to enjoy the moment of success and after going to the hotel we will come back to our normal senses.''

Yuvraj said that it was his and the team's dream to win the World Cup for Sachin Tendulkar.

“We are proud we have done it for him, the Indian team and the nation.''

Gambhir, the best

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said his team was beaten by a better team.

“Gambhir is the best player I have seen in one-day cricket. He and Virat Kohli combined well and thereafter Dhoni understood the situation and executed the job. He's the epitome of a captain — cool and calm.''

AFP adds:

“I took a quite few decisions and if we hadn't had won I would have been asked quite a few questions,” said Dhoni.

“Why no Ashwin? Why Sreesanth? Why no Yuvraj (at five)? Why did I bat ahead? That pushed me and motivated to do well. The pressure had got to me in the previous games. In this match, I wanted to bat up the order and (coach) Gary (Kirsten) backed me and so did the senior players.”

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