Mahendra Singh Dhoni walks to the nets during a training session at the WACA in Perth, Australia. (AP Photo)
PERTH: Two-nil down and two to go. On the eve of the third Test against Australia, captain
MS Dhoni dismissed talks of his side suffering yet another whitewash, claiming that India were playing better
cricket Down Under than in England where they had lost 4-0 last year.
"At times you lose a few games, but as long as you are competing it is good because that's what you are supposed to do. At the end of the day, the team that has played consistently good cricket over the period will win the series or the game. In England, we didn't compete to the extent we should have," Dhoni said.
Asked whether a whitewash in Australia would hurt more, Dhoni remarked: "When you die, you die. You don't see which is a better way to die." On a more serious note the skipper said, "We want to get back in this series. We have learned a lot from that series (in England). We have learned a lot from this series also. We just need to implement it in the next two Tests."
Dhoni, who captaincy has come under a lot of criticism from former players, made it clear that he has learned to live with it. "It is easier to look from outside, and comment on particular decisions when you have seen the result," he said.
"It's always about taking a good decision at the right time. That's what I try to do. At times I go wrong, at times I am right. It's part and parcel of leading a side," he added.
The Indian captain gave lie to the notion that Indian players were not hurting enough after losing two Tests in a row. "If it means sitting down and weeping for hours at the ground, we are not going to do that. It hurts a bit, but at the end of the day being a sport you want to improve and come back. You don't want to be emotional about it," Dhoni said before going on to explain the logic behind a majority of his players going go-karting.
"We are among the sides that practice a lot," he said. "We have been trying to reduce the hours in practice. We have not been able to do that. We try to give the guys as much rest as possible. Recreational activities really do help," Dhoni added.
On a couple of his players getting provoked by boorish fans, Dhoni said: "It's interesting because more often than not someone starts something, and more often than not, it is the retaliator who gets punished. We need to be smart about this."
Dhoni also dismissed talks of infighting in his team, saying, "As far as fighting is concerned, I have never seen it in an Indian team. May be the opposition is sitting and dreaming of it.
"It has not happened. That's one thing we are really proud of. When we speak about the dressing-room atmosphere, and how we love one another's success, that has been the real strength of the Indian cricket team. And I don't see it moving in any other direction."