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World Cup 2015: MS Dhoni turns racqueteer

Preparing for fiery pace attack against Australia, Captain Cool wields tennis racquet to train teammates

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India players stretch during training ahead of their semifinal clash against Australia in Sydney on Monday; and MS Dhoni uses a tennis racquet to give Suresh Raina batting practise at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday
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Rodger Waugh, the father of Australian greats Steve and Mark was present at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. And the septuagenarian, who gives tennis lessons to boys and girls at the grass courts located on the premises of the iconic stadium, would have surely been surprised with what he saw Team India do. Only a pathway separates Coach Rodger's beloved courts from the four nets meant for the game his sons are well-versed with. There, MS Dhoni put Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan through a drill with the kind of equipment Rodger deals with.

Even though the pitch for Thursday's semifinal between Australia and India is expected to be a batting beauty with enough in it to keep an R Ashwin happier than Mitchell Starc, you can't rule out the bounce on offer. That's a given in countries like Australia and South Africa. Where there's bounce, can the bouncer be far away? And when there are bouncers, can Raina and Dhawan afford to breathe easy?

No wonder, then, that the defending champions assigned utmost importance to tackling the short ball at the team's first training session since last Thursday's quarterfinal victory over Bangladesh in Melbourne.

Expectedly, Raina was the first to take strike at the net on the far left. But, unexpectedly, it was Dhoni who wielded a tennis racquet and 'served' up some nasty stuff aimed at his friend's helmet, ribs and what not.

Raina, whose troubles against the short-pitched delivery have made him the butt of many a joke, took the challenge head on. The left-hander, who has rediscovered his mojo with stellar knocks against Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, dealt with whatever Dhoni dished out. In fact, it wouldn't be off the mark to say that it was the skipper who looked more intense than Raina. Every now and then, Dhoni, who has seldom been so hands-on, walked down the pitch to have a chat with Raina. Often gesticulating to make his point about the kind of shots Raina should and shouldn't play, Dhoni was at his animated best. Like an obedient schoolboy, Raina nodded. The workout lasted 20 minutes before Dhoni asked Raina to make his way to the other nets.

No sooner did Raina hop over than Dhawan took his place. Well aware of the danger Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, Shane Watson and James Faulkner could pose by targeting his batsmen with bouncers, Dhoni went about helping Dhawan the same way he helped Raina.

Over the last one year or so, the lack of a back-and-across movement of the back leg hampered Dhawan's ambitions of executing the pull and hook. He simply wouldn't get into the right position at the right time. But against South Africa at the MCG last month, Dhawan exorcised his technical ghosts to come up trumps against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and the others. His imperious 137 went a long way in helping him regain all that confidence.

Like Raina, Dhawan, too, put up a good show. Besides middling the ball well, he ducked and saw the ball whiz past whenever the situation demanded. And much like his fellow leftie, Dhawan pleased Dhoni with his presence of mind.

Once Dhawan was done, Dhoni realised he, too, had to have a hit. So he padded up and proceeded to bat at the adjacent nets. A member of the support staff then got of the racquet. One by one, every top-order batsman paid a visit to the corner net and faced what Raina and Dhawan had. Later, Dhoni came back only to wield the racquet all over again.

On Tuesday, India will undergo their strength and conditioning drills at the team hotel.

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