Birmingham, June 24: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said they handled the pressure really well to win the ICC Champions Trophy by beating England by five runs at Edgbaston here Sunday.
India put up a target of 130 for the hosts to chase, who could only manage 124/8 in their 20 overs, after rains delayed the start of the match, making it a 20-over per side game.
“When we were batting I just said get close to 130. The shower helped us because the ball was gripping later on. It's important to be positive. I said ‘we are the No.1-ranked team, let's play like that',” said Dhoni at the presentation ceremony.
“I knew the two overs of powerplay were crucial. I wanted to make them slog off the spinners. They all handled the pressure really well, in international cricket people talk about technique but it's the ones that deal with the pressure,” added Dhoni before going on to lift the title.
India had previously, in 2002, jointly won the Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka.
England captain Alastair Cook said that they were devastated after losing the ICC Champions Trophy final to India by five runs at Edgbaston here Sunday.
After being put into bat, India made 129/7 off 20 overs after rain delayed the start of the match. In reply, the hosts could only manage 124/8.
“With 20-odd needed off 16 balls it was in our hands. There have been a lot of good performances, but at the moment we are a bit devastated,” said Cook at the presentation ceremony.
“We've come up a little short. I thought we bowled well, you'd take 130. It's tough to take at the moment. I think both sides found the pitch quite hard to bat on. You are always going to think of different reasons. I'm proud of the way the players have performed in this tournament,” added the left handed batsman.
England had previously reached the final of the 2004 Champions Trophy when they lost to the West Indies.
