While Misbah gave the match against India a lot of importance and said that a victory in this game would give his beleaguered team a lot of confidence and an opportunity to return home with heads held high, Dhoni said it was just another game in which his side would look to do well.
It could only be either because Dhoni is already looking at the bigger picture and the prospect of winning the tournament. Else, his only objective to treat this encounter as just any other game would be to emphasize that it is Pakistan which is under pressure, and not India.
"Doesn't really matter which side you are playing, because the reason is all international sides are good enough, so no real point taking any added pressure," Dhoni said when asked about the importance of the Saturday game.
Asked about the most pleasing aspect of his team's campaign so far, the skipper said: "I think the fact that we have consistently scored runs. That's something very important. The fact that we have been able to chase scores, and good scores, against good bowlers on good wickets has been a very pleasing aspect.
"Our fast bowlers have been very good and they have shown if there's a bit of help for them, they can come back into the game and bowl very well in the middle overs. I'm very happy.
"We are not known for our fielding standards, but I think right now we are the best fielding side. You can compare us to any team and most of our fielders are good while the rest are above average."
It's a known fact that Dhoni loves to talk, especially when he has something positive to convey. And right now, in England, Team India has been a bouquet of positives so far, mauling opponents with precision and being tagged as favourites for the title.
The skipper says there's been no need for any added motivation here to bring the best out of his young players. "Motivation has never been a factor, especially when you're representing a country of about 1.2 billion people and the expectation level is always very high. I think all of them are very motivated. It's just that it's important to enjoy the game," he said.
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