Dhoni is the best captain I played under: Tendulkar

Mumbai, Apr 4 (PTI) He has played under six captains
in a career spanning 21 years but senior Indian batsman Sachin
Tendulkar Monday rated current India skipper Mahendra Singh
Dhoni as the best for his sharp mind and calm demeanour.
Tendulkar has played six World Cups in his career but
it was under Dhoni that the iconic batsman realised his dream
of becoming a part of a winning team after they beat Sri Lanka
in the finals at the Wankhede stadium in Indian Western city
Mumbai on Saturday.
"He (Dhoni) is the best captain I have played under.
He is very sharp and always alert. He reads the situation well
and is open to sharing ideas. He always has discussions with
bowlers, batsmen and senior players separately," said
Tendulkar.
"One more good thing is he is always calm and never
shows his frustration. These are some of the human qualities
which have made him such a good captain. He is a fantastic
captain," he added.
Asked about outgoing India coach Gary Kirsten,
Tendulkar said he wants the South African to continue.
"Personally I want Gary to continue but I understand
he has got commitments and he must have thought about this
before the tournament. I respect his decision," he said.
"It has been a pleasure to work with him, he worked as
hard as the players, he is like a bowling machine, bowling
200-300 balls to the batsmen. It has always been a fabulous
experience to rub shoulder with him, we will miss him," he
added.
Tendulkar feels the team peaked at the right time at
the knockout stage after playing some close matches in the
league stages of the tournament.
"In the knockout stage we peaked at the right time, it
was most important, we knew either the batting was clicking or
bowling or fielding but everything was not clicking together,
but in the last three games. Everybody contributed, right
from seniors to the juniors in the team. Results no one can
guarantee but efforts can be," he said.
Tendulkar said winning the World Cup was the biggest
day of his life.
"My biggest day in life was April 2, 2011. We had to
pinch one another that it was actually happening in our life.
I thank God for such a day, it was by his grace."
Asked how did the team deal with pressure, Tendulkar
said they just tried to give their individual best.
"Pressure and expectation are always there, we were
thinking that as individuals we should perform our best. If
bowler fails, others will take wickets we were not thinking
like that, we wanted to do our individual best and perform as
a team."

"If a batsman failed, the aim was that the other
batsmen should cover up for him. Pressure was of my own
expectations. I won't say it was pressure but preparation,"
Tendulkar said.
Asked about the finals, Tendulkar said, "We planned a
lot of things ahead of the final, we discussed a lot of
things, but nobody was thinking about lifting the trophy.
Obviously they were at the back of our minds but we wanted to
go through the process and finish the game.
"We wanted to restrict them at the minimal total and
chase the total. We were focusing on the process," he said.
Asked about the last lap on the shoulders of his
teammates after winning the World Cup title, Tendulkar said it
was a pleasant surprise and thanked his colleagues for the
gesture.
"I became extremely emotional and those were happy
tears. It has never happened in my life. It was truly an
amazing experience to do the lap. I was not expecting that and
I was taken by pleasant surprise. I want to thank all my
teammates for that gesture. What a way to end the World Cup.
It was an overwhelming experience," he said.
To a question as how did the team prepared for the
World Cup, Tendulkar said the real preparation started after
the South Africa series and the Bangalore camp helped the team
to gel well.
"Preparation started some time ago but the real
preparation was after the South Africa series when we spent
50-55 days together in the Bangalore camp, that really helped
us," he said.
"We had various meeting, sharing experience, thinking
what we should be doing and what to avoid, it was a package
which was a successful one, it helped us to bond and
understand each other better."
Tendulkar also walked down his memory lane and
recalled the various moments of his life, one of which was
walking into the dressing room in 1987.
"I remember India playing in England and the various
moments, winning the World Cup was the ultimate one, but there
were other moments also which I will never forget.
"My brothers are a big fan of Sandeep Patil. I was
just 10 years old and I was just jumping and enjoying the
moment, the bigger memory I have was walking into the dressing
room, Sunil Gavaskar introduced me to the various players and
it was an amazing experience," he said.