Dhoni plays down talk of 'payback' win

MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, has played down talk of India's nail-biting win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup being a "payback" for their defeat at the hands of the same opponents in the Champions Trophy last year. "Payback, I don't think too much about that. I think about the present and we put in a team performance," Dhoni told reporters after the game.

Tempers flared during the contest with Gautam Gambhir being involved in a heated exchange with Kamran Akmal shortly before being dismissed, and Harbhajan Singh squaring off with Shoaib Akhtar. Dhoni, however, didn't give the incidents too much importance. "If you ask me if it (sledging) happened or not, I would say let us leave it. India-Pakistan games are always intense with both wanting to win and so there is bound to be some spark in the middle." The match referee spoke to the players concerned and opted not to charge them. "The ICC match referee had a chat with the players but decided not to charge them as he felt it was a heat of the moment incident," Ranjib Biswal, the Indian team manager, said.

Dhoni also denied sledging had anything to do with Gambhir's dismissal, bowled by Saeed Ajmal. "I don't think Gambhir got out due to any sledging. He is an aggressive character, whenever there is some chitchat from the opposition he comes up with a good performance," Dhoni said. "I think he just didn't read the delivery well, [Saeed] Ajmal was bowling very well, his doosras were difficult to pick under these lights."

Gambhir and Dhoni played a critical role in enabling India chase 268, but it was Harbhajan who struck the decisive blow, a six over midwicket off Mohammad Aaamer in the final over to knock Pakistan out and seal India's place in the final. His place in the side is secured by his position as India's leading spinner, but Harbhajan has openly talked about his ambitions for making a Test century and has several crunch cameos in his CV. Dhoni, though, played down any talk of Harbhajan turning into a bonafide allrounder.

"Bhajji has always been a super hero, a larger than life figure. Whether it is Test match or one-dayers, Bhajji has always contributed runs whenever needed," Dhoni said. "But I think we should not call an allrounder and put pressure on him, and let him be the way that he is and allow him to contribute with the bat."

India's cause was also given a helping hand by some sloppy fielding by Pakistan. Aamer reprieved Gambhir on 69, Kamran let slip a regulation chance off Rohit Sharma and several run-out chances were spurned. India, on the other hand, pulled off a couple of sharp catches but the ground fielding still remained ordinary. "We need to improve our fielding, you can't really hide it," Dhoni said. "There were some brilliant catches taken today, and if we gradually improve our fielding. It will be good for our side."

Dhoni was also asked whether he felt the batting Powerplay was chosen at the right time, since it was taken from the 45th over, by which time both set batsmen Gambhir and Dhoni had been dismissed. "I think when you are chasing, especially in the subcontinent, you try to pace your innings with your top-order batsmen," he said. "Even in the last five over with the Powerplay, if you need to score 40-50 runs it is quite achievable, which is why most captains prefer to leave the Powerplay late."

Teams batting first at Dambulla generally get the advantage of a more docile track, but Dhoni felt that benefit has not been as huge in the Asia Cup as in previous tournaments here. "I think the wickets have improved a lot," he said, "When I came in for the tournament, I felt it will be a toss-related matter where if you win the toss the game goes in your favour 60%, but today's wicket didn't misbehave in any way. It's good, the entire game doesn't depend too much on the toss."