Cardiff: Having reached the ICC Champions Trophy final by beating Sri Lanka quite comprehensively by eight wickets in the semi-final, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that it was a very well written script for them from the word go.
"I think it is a well-written script. I was a good toss to win. Our bowlers gave us a good start and unfortunately Sri Lanka lost Tilakratne Dilshan due to injury. It had a huge impact on the match I guess and we capitalised on that. Then the spinners too bowled well,” said Dhoni, adding that it's important to have good bowlers in the side.
Talking about his bowling, Dhoni said that the ball was still doing a bit and therefore he thought of taking his chances. “Bhuvneshwar had already bowled 8 or 9 overs and we wanted to keep some of the fast bowlers' overs for the death. So with Dinesh Karthik around, I think might as well give it a go. I thought even if it goes badly, I'll bowl one over. It went okay so I bowled another,” said Dhoni, adding that England are a very good side.
“We have played a lot against them in the last couple of years. So in a way we know each other's strength and weaknesses," he said.
Meanwhile losing captain Angelo Mathews said, "The toss was crucial and we would have also bowled if we won the toss. The ball was seaming around, swinging around. The pitch was two-paced and our batsmen found it difficult. But credit should go the Indians."
Man of the Match Ishant Sharma said that his strength was the bounce and he stuck to his strength. “I think up front Umesh and Bhuvi bowled really well. The conditions were really favourable here. In the previous games the wickets were quite flat."