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India v Australia, Twenty20 international, Mumbai

Gambhir and Uthappa have matured - Dhoni

Cricinfo staff

October 20, 2007

Young and fearless: Robin Uthappa has impressed with his daring attitude © Getty Images

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the Twenty20 victory over Australia would give his team momentum as they prepare to take on Pakistan in a one-day and Test series starting next month.

"This victory, as well as the last ODI victory, will give us a lot of confidence. International cricket is more about confidence than technique," Dhoni said after India beat Australia in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

"Gautam (Gambhir) and Robin (Uthappa) have matured and played aggressively," he said while praising his side for coming out with a fearless outlook. "They are aggressive but at times they may fail trying for shots and they may be criticised for playing rash shots but that's how it is."

The virgin pitch used for the game helped the spinners; Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik did not disappoint despite having to bowl in tough situations. "Kartik was preferred over Joginder because of conditions," Dhoni said. "In India, we have to generally sacrifice the fourth seamer for second spinner. Today we batted well and bowled well but fielding was not good because of the bumpy ground. Everyone responded well to responsibilities given to them and that is why we won."

Dhoni's counterpart, Ricky Ponting, felt his team did not get enough runs on the board. "We fell short by 15 runs. We gave away too many extras - 23 extras means four extra overs. We did it the other night also and we need to buck up," he said. "Harabhan and Kartik bowled well. Gambhir batted well. We would like to play more matches against the new generation Indian players."

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