A bit of pressure is off, says Mahendra Singh Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said “a bit of pressure was off” the defending champions’ shoulders after they started their campaign in the cricket World Cup with a 76-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan. The match at Adelaide Oval was seen as one of the most anticipated in the tournament. “It’s a bit of a pressure off since the hype and attraction is like that of a five-star hotel preparation where there is a lot of dressing on the top,” a smiling Dhoni told reporters at the post-match press conference. Dhoni was at his pragmatic best after winning the first international match in two and half months and urged people not to differentiate success at home and abroad. “At times, we try to give too much importance to Test series that we play outside India or tri-nation or a bilateral outside the country. I feel all of them are the same. We should be proud of winning at home and we should try to win outside also. There should not be any demarcation as to okay he has got a century, but he has to score in overseas conditions. So there’s no need to just add a but which actually adds pressure on the youngsters,” the skipper said after leading his team to victory.