Sachin Tendulkar en route to his 91

Brisbane: If captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a picture of calm even after a terrific tri-series win, senior-most pro (and his idol) Sachin Tendulkar was overjoyed.

“I’m feeling so proud… It’s probably the biggest moment in my career,” Sachin told The Telegraph at the team hotel, the Sofitel.

Despite being hampered by a groin problem, Sachin raised the level of his game, as only he can, in the two finals.

“That’s class… I don’t think Sachin was as focused in the qualifying matches, but he really turned it on in the finals,” lauded former Australia captain Mark Taylor.

As for Dhoni, without naming the Sanjay Manjrekars, he slammed the Sachin-baiters: “People may call him a sitting elephant or whatever, but he’s the best and people should be careful about what they write…”

Later, speaking exclusively, a somewhat exhausted Dhoni said he’d learnt two things during the past five weeks as the ODI and Twenty20 captain in Australia.

“First, I’ve learnt sledging… More seriously, I’ve learnt to handle pressure better…”

Dhoni, though, chose not to compare last September’s World Twenty20 Championship success (under his captaincy) with the humbling of the limited overs world champions at home.

“That was a world event with different pressures… Obviously, I was very happy then and am very happy now… It’s all a part of learning,” he signed off.

Bottomline, of course, is that Dhoni’s getting excellent marks.

Footnote: While India shared the TVS Cup with South Africa (in Bangladesh) in April 2003, the last outright success had been way back in July 2002 when we won the NatWest Trophy under Sourav Ganguly.