Chennai, March 20: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said that his team would focus on their preparations for the quarterfinals rather than think about their heavyweight opponents Australia.

After a morale-boosting 80-run win against the West Indies, Dhoni said that there had been a gradual improvement in the side but he was hopeful that the team would peak in the knockout stages.

Excerpts from the post-match interaction.

On playing Australia in the quarterfinals

Well, they are a very good side. They play tough cricket. They are quite expressive on the field at the same time. It is not always about who you are playing, for us it about how we are preparing. I think we will prepare well. We will get a day off and practice a day before the game and give our best in that game. It is not about the result, it the process which is important and giving our best shot on the ground.

On losing nine wickets for 29 runs against South Africa and losing seven for 51 against West Indies

It is a concern but as you can see, there [has been] a gradual improvement and hopefully in the quarters we will be at our best. And that is the positive I am taking out from this. We have not utilised the second Powerplay to the fullest. If we do that we will – if not more – score 20-25 extra runs for the bowlers to defend.

On the crowd support at Chennai

Yeah, they have actually seen me play more for the Chennai Super Kings than the Indian side. It a pleasure playing here at Chennai.

On the turning point in the match

Well that is why the whole 50 overs is important. If you are batting, then you have to finish it off well and that means till the 50th over you have to be at your best. When it comes to the bowling department, it is not just the first five or 10 overs that are important. Throughout you have to be at your best. I think the game really changed once Zaheer [Khan] gave us that breakthrough [Zaheer bowled Devon Smith in the 31st over to start West Indies’ downfall from 154-2]. Before that Devon [Smith] was batting really well and we gave him an opportunity to score and he capitalised on that. Once we got his wicket we were able to put pressure on the other batsmen from both sides.

On being just two matches away from a World Cup final

Well, you don’t need to really think about that. You just need to think about that particular day, the next over or the next ball. I always believe that living in the present is the best option rather than thinking about the past or about the coming games. The coming games you are going to play only if you are performing well at the moment. If nine wickets fall for 29 runs then you might as well not play the next game. It is important to seal the game which you are presently playing.