Harbhajan Singh pitched it where he intended to, most times, next to the centre wicket prepared for the fifth ODI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.
Harbhajan Singh pitched it where he intended to, most times, next to the centre wicket prepared for the fifth ODI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here. Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning coach who also backs up these days as assistant to Gary Kirsten, placed a cone just outside the off-stump — on a length that would create doubts in a batsman’s mind.
Harbhajan pitched it up, flighted the ball and turned it into the right-hander. The off-spinner did this non-stop for 30 minutes. It was the perfect length and line he hopes to replicate on Thursday.
He then proceeded to join his teammates at the practice wickets located outside the main stadium. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina were playing textbook shots. Harbhajan faced a couple of local bowlers. He was carefree in his shot-making — the kind that gave Australia skipper Ricky Ponting some nerves in Baroda and Mohali.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that Ravindra Jadeja is the bowling all-rounder in this side. The skipper thinks the youngster has the potential to add balance to the side. It’s quite ironical that Jadeja has taken more wickets than Harbhajan but scored less runs. For all of Harbhajan’s heroics with the bat, Dhoni would want his strike bowler to turn match-winner. Five wickets in four games at an average only better than that of Yuvraj Singh and Praveen Kumar aren’t numbers associated with impact players in a big series.
“We have to bat,” Dhoni said, when asked what needs to be done to ensure partnerships at the top of the order. “Hopefully the top order will score runs. If the top three or four batsman make runs and build partnerships, then probably I won’t even have to bat,” Dhoni said in lighter vein.
However, he wouldn’t want a batting performance like the one in Mohali that allowed Australia to square the series. Dhoni has played two influential knocks in this series. Both resulted in victories, at Nagpur and New Delhi. He would now love to see one among those who bat higher up the order to fire.
The skipper will be hoping his match-winner at the top of the order — Virender Sehwag — comes good. Sehwag has looked in fine touch but rather than his form, it is the conversion rate that is worrisome.
A big partnership between the top three can really hurt the Australians. “If we get a good start, we can dominate proceedings,” Dhoni, the highest-run getter for the side, added. Without pacers Peter Siddle, Australia’s best bowler in this series, and Moises Henriques, Ponting won’t have the luxury of too many options.
Australia have lost men like an army at the battlefront. Yet they have fought tooth and nail to give India a run for their money. “I’m not surprised they have played so well in spite of the injuries. This kind of a performance is expected from an Australian side,” Dhoni said.
At 2-2, the seven-match series is interestingly poised. From here on it will boil down to which side will blink first.
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