Mohali, March 30: Captain MS Dhoni was a visibly relieved man having won the semi-final against Pakistan. After sharing hugs and high-fives with teammates and uprooting the stumps to take home as souvenirs, the delighted captain spoke to the media about the win.

Excerpts from the interaction

On whether everything was going to plan for Team India

Well, of course it was lucky to score the 20 to 30 odd runs - we got off to a fantastic start given by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. But I felt as the game progressed, the wicket got slower, it was difficult to rotate strike. And once they got a couple of wickets in the middle overs, it got very difficult because they were bowling a very good line and length, especially Shahid [Afridi] and Saeed [Ajmal] - they bowled a very tight line and it was very important to respect [that] and just go through the innings because in a big game, you never know. Instead of looking for those extra 20 runs, you go for a par score and look to defend it and I think 260 odd was a decent score. If you just don’t look at the start, 260 was a very good score.

On whether the pitch surprised the batsmen

It was turning. That was because we read [it] wrong [before the game]. That was one of the reasons why we played three seamers. But it went in our favour to an extent because the seamers, they bowled really well in this game and the spinners came into action - that was really good news. [This was] one game where I didn’t have to use extra bowlers, just five bowlers [did] the job for us so [it] was really fantastic.

On whether he asked his bowlers to take the pace off the ball, a trick that worked for Munaf

That’s his strength because we don’t have bowlers who can bowl 140 [kmph] plus. Ashish [Nehra] is a rhythm bowler - once he gets going, he can bowl 130 – 140 odd kms. Zak [Zaheer Khan] once in a while [can reach those speeds], but overall we rely on what you say is deception - change in length, line, change of plans. That really works. Zak is brilliant at it and Munaf [Patel] over the years with T20 cricket and IPL, he has become really smart.

On heading to Mumbai with the experience of leading the team in the World Twenty20 final behind him

It’s a dream. Before the start of the tournament what we said was, it’s very important to peak at the right time. Throughout the tournament we didn’t have any easy games. Every game that we played we had to struggle. That’s the beauty of this game. Nothing comes easy and the good thing is that we have chased quite a few decent scores. Everyone has been tested, whether it is the batsman or the bowlers, so overall I think we are quite ready for the final. But you have to be at your best on that particular day.