MS Dhoni leads India in the third one-dayer against Australia not only on the back of a superlative century but with circumstances conspiring to give his team an advantage at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday.
The Aussies will be without Brett Lee and James Hopes, their replacement wicketkeeper Graham Manou would not have felt the ball pound enough into his gloves, and they would also be deprived of the confidence of a proper practice session on match-eve.
Dhoni, who became the first Indian captain to score an ODI century against Australia with a quick-fire 124 off 107 balls that enabled an ample 99-run victory to level the series on Wednesday in Nagpur, was expectedly upbeat and quick to register his positive thoughts.
“The Australians are on the back-foot because of injuries, while we have gained the much needed momentum. However, they can not be considered a weak side and I am sure the others will be looking to grab the opportunities that come their way,” said Dhoni after an elaborate practice session on Friday evening.
The re-laid Kotla pitch, on which several Aussies got to play during the recent Champions League Twenty20, is expected to be better than the very low and slow track that had batsmen tottering. However, it is still not expected to provide the kind of run feast seen in the first two ODIs.
“The ball will definitely keep low. I feel the toss will play a major role as the team batting first will get a big advantage,” emphasised Dhoni, who kept a keen watch on spinners Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra at the practice session.
“We have not decided on the team combination. Harbhajan has not been bowling so well, but he is one player who can return to form any time. I feel he could have a big role to play if the ball does indeed keep low on this pitch,” he added.
Dhoni was also not averse to taking a dig at his counterpart, Ricky Ponting, who was left fuming earlier on Friday morning when provided with wet practice pitches. “I don’t think a day’s practice matters all that much,” quipped Dhoni. Ponting had expressed his disappointment after seeing the pitches.
“It seems everybody in the world other than the groundsmen knew that we were training at 9 in the morning. But the pitches have been watered and we could hardly have a decent knock,” said Ponting, conceding that bowling was a worry for him.
“When you have to take on big-hitting batsmen like the Indians, you have to be only a few inches off and you are going to go,” Ponting said in reference to the runs conceded late in India’s innings in the first two ODIs.
Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar had scored 84 runs in 9.3 overs in the first match at Vadodara to take India within four runs of Australia’s total. In the Nagpur one-dayer, Ponting’s bowlers conceded a mammoth 108 off the last 10 overs.
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