Date:13/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/13/stories/2008081351981800.htm

Sport - Cricket

It’s all about giving your best: Dhoni

Bangalore: M.S. Dhoni was in a hurry. However, the Indian ODI skipper, who is here as part of a two-day camp, had to adhere to the convention of the captain attending a pre-departure press conference as he and six others are all set to fly out to Sri Lanka on Wednesday morning for the forthcoming five-match ODI series.

“It is a completely different side. It is all about going out there and giving your best. It’s about doing well there,” Dhoni said about the imminent one day matches against the Sri Lankans.

Queried on plans to counter Ajantha Mendis, Dhoni quipped, “You will see it later.” And about the spin-factor in Sri Lanka, Dhoni added: “We all know that the pitches in Sri Lanka will favour spin but you do have tracks like the one in Dambulla that help the seamers.”

The skipper replied with a terse “not really” when asked whether there was any extra pressure on him following India’s defeat in the Test series.

Dhoni mentioned that the camp that concluded here on Tuesday, focussed on the skill-aspect. “We basically focussed on batting and bowling and also did a bit of conditioning and some fielding,” he said and hurried out.

Earlier in the day, S. Badrinath joined the camp and the Selection Committee Chairman Dilip Vengsarkar was also a steady presence. — Principal Correspondent