The Hindu : Sport : Once again, batsmen will call the shots

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 09, 2005

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Sport

Once again, batsmen will call the shots

It's great to be 2-0 up in a six-match series and we go into the third ODI well aware of the fact that we can seal Pakistan's fate in Jamshedpur. For, if we win on Saturday, the series will be all but ours. What gives me even more satisfaction is the fact that we worked really hard in Kochi as well as Vizag to get into the position we are at the moment.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was outstanding in the last game. My gamble in sending him early to perk up the run-rate paid off handsomely. It was an innings of rare quality. He has always been a player who loves to play his shots. But showing promise is one thing and translating it into performance is quite another.

Bright future

Dhoni bridged that gap quite convincingly. He has a bright future if he can keep up the good work with the bat and the Indian team will be stronger by his presence in the line-up.

Also, he kept wickets well. It is not easy to keep wickets in the given conditions, more so after batting for 40-odd overs. Yet, he was on the ball and it speaks volumes for his fitness. I am hoping he will be able to showcase his talent in front of his home crowd. He deserves all the accolades that are pouring in.

What can I say about Sehwag? He is currently in the form of his life. His confidence is so high at the moment that he has taken batting to a new level. Certain players play above themselves against certain teams. In Sehwag's case it appears to be Pakistan. He just can't stop scoring against them. And when he bats the way he does, the run-rate heads north. His batting has been the single most redeeming feature of this series and hopefully he will continue in this fashion in the remaining games.

Pakistan did well

I thought Pakistan did rather well in trying to chase our big total in Vizag. It is very difficult to go after 350-plus targets. No one knows it better than us, for we have been on the wrong side of it a couple of times. Our loss to Australia in the World Cup final in 2003 still rankles.

Pakistan's batsmen did manage to find the boundary regularly, but with every dot ball the asking rate goes up and you have to take additional risks. So we knew how difficult it would be for Pakistan.

The wickets at Kochi and Vizag were good for batting. The one in Jamshedpur looks like an absolute belter. Batsmen will call the shots. Discipline will be the mantra for the bowlers, who will need all the support they can get from the fielders.

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