The Hindu : Sport : Indian players in roaring form

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Thursday, May 21, 2009
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Indian players in roaring form

Dhoni’s men are the team to beat in England, writes Ravi Shastri

As the Indian Premier League draws to a close, it’s comforting to see that those Indians, selected for the Twenty20 World Cup, are in roaring form.

Of course, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are notable failures but the rest are warming Indian hearts and who knows the Delhi openers might come back to form in the remaining games to make India firm favourite.

You have a middle-order of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Ravinder Jadeja who are all exceptional players. Yuvraj Singh is a known six-hitter but Raina and Sharma have overtaken him.

Raina, in his small frame, packs enormous power. He is a young man of strong arms and wrists and can murderously pull even good length balls beyond the boundary.

Sharma is an effortless timer who moves in or outside the line of deliveries to make soaring hits over extra cover and mid-wicket. Jadeja is one clever manipulator of field who is just about coming on to his own.

The teamhas allrounders in Pathan brothers, Yusuf and Irfan, who can win matches on their own. When put together, they are just sensational. Both are good with bat and ball and no slouch on the field either.

Cool captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has underlined how exceptional he is as a cricketer and a captain. His cool methods have had a singular influence on Chennai’s progress. He isn’t averse to dropping his gloves and field in the outfield if the idea is to snub his tardy fielders.

You then have bowlers, all match-winners in their own right. Zaheer Khan didn’t come back after his injury but his selection is a reflection that all is well with him. His partners — Ishant Sharma, R.P. Singh and Praveen Kumar — were exceptional over the last few weeks. As for spinners, Harbhajan Singh has good company in Pragyan Ojha. Then there are three spinning jewels — Yuvraj and Rohit and Raina whose off-spinners aren’t easy to get away from. Dhoni’s men, I reckon, are the team to beat in England. TCM

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