"The team responded well and the bowlers bowled really well to restrict Pakistan to a small total. After a couple of overs (in Pakistan innings), we settled down, Zak (Zaheer Khan) and Irfan Pathan bowled well," Dhoni said after the match.
"The part-time bowlers did a very good job and that was crucial as we were playing with seven batsmen. Then Virat played an excellent innings. Viru (Virender Sehwag) also batted well. We lost Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) early, that's was a setback because he can play spin really well," he added.
Asked about man-of-the-match Kohli's consistent form, Dhoni said he was happy that the youngster was taking up responsibility.
"It's good that Kohli is taking the responsibility. He has been someone who has been consistent in the last one and half years. It is good that a batsman has been in consistent form and others are revolving around him," said the skipper.
India were thrashed by Australia in their first Super Eights match on Friday but Dhoni said that his side was not desperate to win Sunday's game.
"We were not desperate to win today. I always felt that if you are desperate for a win, you put more pressure on yourself. There is no point doing that. We want to live in the present and not think too far ahead of ourselves," he said.
"We had a very relaxed dressing room atmosphere. Before the match started today, I could see there were some positive energy among the players and I thought we would do well today," he said.
Kohli said that the key to his fine knock on Sunday was to remain calm.
"It does not get any better for me than helping India win against Pakistan. It was a high-pressure game. God has been kind to me, I am being able to help India win matches," he added. He said the wicket was slow in the first innings (when Pakistan batted) and it got better under lights.