Not an open and shut case

India and Australia play the first of the best-of-three tri-series final today

SYDNEY: Look at the hills not at the valley! Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not say that but he meant it as much. On the eve of the tri-series finals, the Indian skipper would want one to believe that win or loss in the best of three finals, his young side has done its duty.

“You should look at how the previous teams performed in Australia and how his boys have done,” he says. “Winning is important but it is not everything.”

The captain tried to send out a message to his boys not to get overawed by the enormity of the occasion but he cannot escape the fact that it will be a big test of character for his young team whose abilities were questioned since they arrived. It will also be a big test of character for Dhoni the captain. It is the biggest match of his ODI captaincy. “We can do better by staying relaxed. If we are desperate to win we tend to put pressure on ourselves.”

The Indian captain would cite the progress the team has made since the T20 game a month ago. “We’ve made tremendous improvement in every department since that match. Bowling, batting, fielding and running… everything has improved,” the captain stressed.

Point noted, but what about opening?

This has been one area that has not shown improvement since that opening T20 game. And Dhoni faces big test of captaincy skills to resolve problem, which can be key to the result of the Sunday’s contest.

Having unsuccessfully experimented with Irfan Pathan and Robin Uthappa and even Gautam Gambhir as partners for Sachin Tendulkar, it may not be time for yet another experiment. Sehwag has managed only 81 runs in five games. The other option - Robin Uthappa - has not done any better. He has scored only 95 from six innings. Gambhir, the highest scorer of the series at 422, has a right to demand No. 3 place, a position that has given most of those runs, including two hundreds. Dhoni also would not want to disturb Gambhir’s position. But India seem still wary of bringing back Sehwag to the top of the order as it might have cascading effect on bowling combination. “There are a few tricky issues,” Dhoni thinks aloud. One of the tricky issue whether to go with five bowlers or four. The latter option might help Sehwag’s cause but a final decision is expected only on the morrow. Dhoni would not announce even XIII for the.

Opening is a worry that is not exclusive of India alone. Even the Aussies have a similar worry. With Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden not giving them starts that they are known to, the world champions do not look the formidable side they were. India can well exploit the situation. Besides, as the captain himself would admit, their build-up to the final has not been the ideal.

But Dhoni would say past has little relevance in such games.  The danger man for India would be Adam Gilchrist, who has been in fine form lately. Gilchrist migrated to Perth but he comes from Sydney and would be playing his last game in his home town. India will have to spoil his party to give themselves a chance in the final. They can tell him sorry later.