(Image source from: ‘Don’t slip from here’)

Every one cherished India’s win against Australia in their home series recently. This is for the first time that India blanked Australia in their backyard. With this, India stood top in the world T20 rankings. Minutes after the series won, a ‘great speech’ was delivered by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the dressing room. The captain urged Team India to “carry the same momentum” in the games coming up in the T20 World Cup.

Also read: Dhoni becomes first visiting captain to clean-sweep Australia

The Indian Express quoted a source as saying that, “Post match, he gave a great speech, a motivational speech which lasted for more than 20 minutes.”

The source said, “He stressed on the importance of this series win and that India has never played cricket like this against Australia at their home. He said the batsmen have been on a great run and that everybody should know the importance of a whitewash. It was the first time many of them have seen such success and Dhoni wanted them to understand the significance of this series win.”

Dhoni stressed on building momentum from the 3-0 series win that was significant for the skipper as well as the team after their 4-1 loss in the ODI series. At the end of the series, his form was kept under scrutiny. Dhoni’s critics were silenced by the T20 series clean sweep.

Even Ravi Shastri, Team director, chipped in with a small speech. He complimented the players’ ‘tigerish’ spirit. The source said, “He told them that none of the past players, not even the greats of Indian cricket, could achieve what they have. He said that India played a hard brand of cricket against Australia and the team gave back in the language Australians understood. Shastri said that India has never played such cricket before and it will leave a great mark on world cricket. He said India was always looked upon as a team that did well in the sub-continent, but this team will change the mindset.”

-Sumana