Adelaide, Feb 14 (IANS) Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni Saturday said their “high-voltage” match against Pakistan Sunday is bound to bring in “more intensity on the field” from the defending champions.
The game is set to be the most watched game in cricket history, drawing a capacity crowd of 47,000 to Adelaide Oval and attracting an estimated television audience of over one billion viewers for the Pool B encounter.
“When you play Pakistan there is definitely more intensity on the field. It will be a high-voltage game,” Dhoni said at the pre-match media conference.
“It’s one of those occasions where the spectators really love it,” the skipper was quoted as saying by news.com.au.
Dhoni mentioned that his side’s big game experience will come to the forefront Sunday, as they desperately need to find some positives to draw upon, after a winless tri-series against England and Australia last month.
“What’s brilliant about this team is you don’t have to calm nerves,” he said.
“They (players) are also part of Indian Premier League (IPL) squads which means they are quite used to playing in front of 40,000 people and also big games like quarters, semis and all of that,” he added.
“Most of them are experienced when it comes to handling a tense situation. They have been playing ODI cricket for quite some time.”
Asked about India’s success in the tournament against their arch-rivals, where they have a five-nil advantage going into the encounter, Dhoni said “I’m not someone who believes greatly in stats, We’ll have to try our best. That’s what it’s all about.”
“It’s not about the stats. It doesn’t really matter, frankly speaking. It’s nice to talk about. I don’t think it really has an impact on the game,” he added.
The 33-year-old also stressed the importance of not giving away too many runs in the first ten overs when the fielding restrictions will be in place.
“Where we drastically need to improve is not giving easy boundaries in the first ten overs, when the ball is new and the batsman can use your pace,” Dhoni said.
