CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 24: India may be holding all the aces against New Zealand but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. The skipper wants to use this tour to shape the side into an allround unit that does not depend on a few individuals to win games.

Dhoni spoke to the press on Tuesday, the eve of the first Twenty20 match. Excerpts:

On the conditions: The temperature has been up and down, and the wind is pretty cold. A lot depends on the conditions tomorrow. If it is cloudy and there is a bit of rain, it will help the seamers but if there is too much rain, the ball will become soggy and the batsmen will benefit. It will be interesting, at the end of the day it will depend on how the weather pans out, but overall, it has been cold so far.

On preparation: It has been good. We are putting in more effort. Usually we practise for two to two-and-a-half hours but have been practising for three-and-a-half to four hours in the four days we were here — we wanted to make the most out of it given the rain threat.

A lot depends on the conditions. As the tour progresses you’ll see the players getting more and more used to the conditions.

On the team: Last year, we did well as a team. The important thing is that we don’t rely on one or two individuals, but we have been performing as a team.

In most games, you see that a lot of people have been contributing. Part-timers have done the job well with the ball. We have improved as a fielding unit as well, and that helps, too.

On the match: I believe every game is a new game. You have to start from scratch. Personally it’s not like if you’ve won the first game it makes huge difference for the entire tour. It’s a 50-day tour and if you see the team that will be victorious will be the one that plays good cricket consistently.

On the probable 12: I’m the sort of guy who doesn’t really believe in announcing the 12. People say if you announce 12 you’ll have 12 guys who are really focused, but I have no problem having 14 guys who are really focused.