Ponting, Gilchrist praise Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership qualities have earned him kudos from Australian Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, who say it's a great achievement for him to win the Twenty20 World Cup in such a short span of time as captain.

"He has done a pretty good job for the team," Ponting, Australian captain, said about Dhoni.

"Leading a team to such a triumph just after taking over as captain is a great achievement, he added.

Ponting also said "captain is as good as the team. Lot of players stood up (rose to the occasion at the Twenty20 World Cup)."

Stand-in skipper Gilchrist said one of the main reasons for India's triumph in South Africa was that the side was "well-led."

"Dhoni did a terrific job, applied well into the game. The team played the big moments very well."

Gilchrist said Dhoni handled himself with a lot of dignity off the field, while on it he seemed to have a cool mind and a well planned strategy, which are qualities of a good captain, as he put it.

Responding to questions, Gilchrist said personally he enjoyed playing in a 50-overs-a-side match more than Twenty20 game. "Fifty overs game is more challenging on the skill-set; Test cricket is greater than that," he said.