Bengaluru, Feb 27: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh spoke to the media briefly about how the Indian team were handling all the expectations and pressure to perform in the all important tie against England.

Excerpts from the chat

On how the team insulated itself from the hype going into the big clash

Well, obviously it’s a very big game, not just for us, even for England. Probably this is ‘the’ game for both the teams to go ahead. And obviously whenever the big game comes people get ready. [The] guys are very excited about the game and hopefully will put up some good performances today.

On whether the team is advised to avoid television and newspapers in the lead up to a big game

Well, to be honest this is entirely up to the individual. Some people like to read [papers], some people like to watch TV. But honestly speaking, newspapers are there to read and and TV [is] there [to be] watched. But it entirely depends on the individual. For me, you know, it’s going to be a big game. In the competition so far we are playing good […] so [we are] looking forward to this game. The newspaper and TV channels, they can stay away from us. We are looking forward to playing this game as well as we have been playing and hopefully we can get the result we are looking for.

On playing on the same pitch used for the India-Australia warm-up game

Well, I don’t know how this wicket will play because the last time we played here there was definitely something for the spinners and we bowled well to get that win under our belts. Hopefully, if the wicket is going to help spinners, then definitely the spinners will come in to play big time.