Mohali, Oct 21: Ever since he became a part of the Indian team, MS Dhoni has been known to finish games in pressure situations. No total ever seems too distant or out of India’s reach so long as Dhoni is in the middle.

In the last ODI played against England at Mohali yesterday, Dhoni, with a 31-ball 35*, once again, demonstrated the temperament that wins side’s games, especially in close situations. In the post-match press-conference, Dhoni elaborately spoke about his batting role and grooming the youngsters.

On his innings and finishing the game

I have always played like this. It is not the first occasion that I was still there at the end. You want to stay there till the end and once the bowler is under pressure, once you know that both of you are under the same amount of pressure, then he who better will more often than not wins the game. We knew if me and [Ravindra] Jadeja are batting and [in the] last two overs even if we need close to 20 - 25 runs, [from] what we have seen in Twenty20 cricket, [it] can be achieved. Also there is the dew factor. It becomes slightly difficult for the bowlers without the reverse swing to bowl yorkers consistently. So, they may opt for the short-pitched deliveries, but once it goes for a boundary, then they don’t [have] many options left. We just wanted to take it till the end, and it really worked for us.

On showing more expression than usual after India won the match

Usually, when I contribute in a game, I take the stump so I have loads of stumps back home. It’s not like I don’t show expression, I always show expression. [It is] just that it was a close game [which] we should have won quite easily but we lost wickets in the middle and all of a sudden there was pressure on us. With me and Jadeja batting, and whatever runs were needed, it was [a] close call. [If] we would have lost one more wicket, it would have certainly been a bit difficult for the lower order batsmen to achieve the target.

On batting lower down the order and grooming the youngsters

I always felt it was important for the youngsters to bat up the order, it’s not like we can’t go up and bat. We can obviously do that but what’s important is for the youngsters to be groomed. They should be batting for more than 20 or 25 overs and once they are regular part of the side then we can experiment. Giving them exposure at No. 6 or No. 7, [is] a completely different task. You may have one or two batsmen after you. That’s one area where Yuvraj Singh has done brilliantly. For most of his career he has batted at No. 6. Now of course he bats at No 4. The same is with Suresh Raina. To be consistent at a number is very difficult. The youngsters who are being promoted are going and scoring runs, which at the end of the day [is] very important.

On Umesh Yadav

He [Umesh Yadav] got hurt. The last shot that [Jonathon] Trott played, it hurt his webbing. I think it’s the left hand.

On bowling in pressure situations

We try to groom them [the bowlers] in the sense that you know as to what needs to be done in these situations and still they are fairly new apart from PK [Praveen Kumar]. PK has played a lot of cricket. Vinay [Kumar] has not played a lot of cricket. It’s good to see him do well with the new ball. And with more and more games under his belt, he will improve as an old ball bowler especially in the middle overs and at the slog. With more and more games he will do consistently do well in the death overs.

On the team composition for the next match

We are not sure as of now what we need to do in the next game. [We will] sit and discuss it. Umesh [Yadav] got injured, so, most likely, he will be out and so one of the bowlers will definitely get a chance. We will see what we can do about the strength because at the end of the day we want to feature the best eleven.

On the ODI series being called a revenge series

Revenge is a very strong word, when it comes to sport I don’t think this word should even be used. Revenge or feelings like these [shouldn’t be talked about], because on one hand we are saying spirit of cricket and on the other hand we are talking revenge. It’s not about that. It’s about improving ourselves as a team. We like to win in India because we know the conditions out here very well. But this time of the year, with the dew around, it’s a difficult task. The new-ball becomes a bit tricky, [we have to decide whether] we need to bowl first or bat first, because at times you get dew, at times you don’t. In Hyderabad the day before the game there was lot of dew on the field and on the day [of the match] there was negligible amount of dew. In the last two games we have seen that the dew is a factor. It just gives us a chance to improve ourselves as a team.

On England’s sledging tactics

Well their strategy is not working, that’s what’s happening right now. But you have to be fair. If our players are saying something to the opposition, which happens at times, you don’t want them to get really personal or say things that are not within the guidelines. A bit of chit-chat is fine because you don’t always want a friendly series. So, as far as things don’t get too personal, I am quite happy with it. But I think they should change their plan for the next two games.