Dhoni wary of Sri Lankan spinners in World T20 final

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IANS Mirpur (Bangladesh)
Last Updated : Apr 05 2014 | 7:16 PM IST

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pointed to Sri Lankan spinners as the ones to watch out for when the two teams clash in the final of the World Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.

Spinners Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake have done exceptionally well in the tournament and add to that Ajantha Mendis's exploits against India.

"Sri Lanka are a very good side and have a fantastic team. They have got the spinners that are needed on a track like this at the same time they have a good mix of young and experienced players," Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference here Saturday.

India are on the cusp of a momentous record and if Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boys win the final they would become the first team to hold all three major limited overs titles, having won the 50-over 2011 World Cup and the Champions Trophy last year.

But the captain is not concentrating on any such records and said that the team are just focussing on doing well on the day.

"We are not thinking of any records or stats, we are more focussed on doing well in the final," said Dhoni.

Speaking about his team, Dhoni said,:"The players who play for India most of them are multi-dimensional. If you look at our squad only a few are T20 specialists other than that the rest are good enough to play all the formats of the game.

"There is also a negative side to it. We play so much cricket throughout the year and its the same set of players that feature in all the international matches and then they play the IPL so its a very congested international calendars we go through."

Sri Lanka ended runners-up in the World T20 2012, losing to the West Indies, and in the 2009 edition when Pakistan beat them. They were also on the losing side when the two teams met in the 50-over 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai.

Dhoni quashed any claims that his side held a psycological advantage over their opponents.

"There is no psychological advantage one can have in this format. The difference between the good sides is very little."

The Indian skipper praised star batsman Virat Kohli, calling him one of the most consistent performers in the team.

"Virat has done very well in the last few years. He has grabbed the opportunities with the best potential he has. He's somebody who wants to improve in each and every game. He is a consistent performer for our team and rarely throws his wicket away and at the same time he scores at a pace that is very difficult to match," said Dhoni.

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First Published: Apr 05 2014 | 7:12 PM IST

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