Changed Sreesanth can do wonders: Dhoni
written by indianachu
at Saturday, November 28, 2009
When Mahendra Singh Dhoni had come to Kanpur one-and-a-half years ago, leading India for the first time because of an injury to Anil Kumble, he had ended up giving the curator a reward after beating South Africa in three days on a spinning track.
Ten Test matches and six wins later, the Indian skipper's golden run continued in the city where it had started, but this time � as Dhoni was quick point out � the pitch hadn't been tailor-made for him.
"We thought this wicket would assist the spinners more, and there would be variable bounce for the fast bowlers. But I don't think it was anywhere close to what we had played on when we were here for the last Test match," he said.
The two big factors behind India's innings-and-144-run win over Sri Lanka in the second Test were the toss, which gave India the opportunity to bat when it was easiest to play strokes, and the bowling of fast bowler Sreesanth, who managed to extract more from the track than anyone felt it had to offer.
"It was a good toss to win. There was a bit of pace early on, so the batsmen could score runs. After that, as the days progressed, it got slower and slower. There was a bit of scuffed-up area for the spinners but there wasn't much help because they weren't getting the bounce. The batsmen did a really good job, putting up a big score," Dhoni said.
"After that, Sreesanth was at his best. He used the reverse swing effectively and he was bowling in the right areas. It was good to see him in action. He had been bowling really well in the net sessions, and this was one wicket where we all knew reverse swing would come into play. I feel Sree and Zaheer are the two best reverse-swing bowlers that we've got. In fact, of all the bowlers, only Sreesanth can take the reverse-swinging ball away from the right-handers."
But Dhoni hoped that Sreesanth, who was returning to the Indian team after 19 months due to injury and allegations of bad attitude, would stay composed going forward in what is effectively his second coming. "Hopefully he will maintain his attitude from this match. Till he doesn't cross the line, it is good for everyone. Not only for him, for the captain, for the players, and for the match referees too," he said. "Sree played in a very different way in this Test match. He was aggressive, but at the same time, he controlled his emotions. That is important because you don't want to go into a match riding on emotion. The way he looked in this Test, he will be fine."
India will go into the next Test without Gautam Gambhir, who will be attending his sister's wedding on December 3, and Dhoni said he won't be able to decide if the opener was missed until after the game. "If we lose early wickets, he will be missed. But there are things you have to adjust with and move on. This is one of those situations where we can't do much. Hopefully, whoever opens with Virender Sehwag will get us off to a good start."
The victory was India's 100th in Test cricket in 432 matches, making them the sixth team to reach the milestone. "It is a privilege to be a part of this side, but it has happened because of the 250 players that came in and played before me, and a few others after me," Dhoni said.
"Fortunately I am the captain of the side right now, but it's the contribution of hundreds of players that we have reached so far."
indianachu : 03
Ten Test matches and six wins later, the Indian skipper's golden run continued in the city where it had started, but this time � as Dhoni was quick point out � the pitch hadn't been tailor-made for him.
"We thought this wicket would assist the spinners more, and there would be variable bounce for the fast bowlers. But I don't think it was anywhere close to what we had played on when we were here for the last Test match," he said.
The two big factors behind India's innings-and-144-run win over Sri Lanka in the second Test were the toss, which gave India the opportunity to bat when it was easiest to play strokes, and the bowling of fast bowler Sreesanth, who managed to extract more from the track than anyone felt it had to offer.
"It was a good toss to win. There was a bit of pace early on, so the batsmen could score runs. After that, as the days progressed, it got slower and slower. There was a bit of scuffed-up area for the spinners but there wasn't much help because they weren't getting the bounce. The batsmen did a really good job, putting up a big score," Dhoni said.
"After that, Sreesanth was at his best. He used the reverse swing effectively and he was bowling in the right areas. It was good to see him in action. He had been bowling really well in the net sessions, and this was one wicket where we all knew reverse swing would come into play. I feel Sree and Zaheer are the two best reverse-swing bowlers that we've got. In fact, of all the bowlers, only Sreesanth can take the reverse-swinging ball away from the right-handers."
But Dhoni hoped that Sreesanth, who was returning to the Indian team after 19 months due to injury and allegations of bad attitude, would stay composed going forward in what is effectively his second coming. "Hopefully he will maintain his attitude from this match. Till he doesn't cross the line, it is good for everyone. Not only for him, for the captain, for the players, and for the match referees too," he said. "Sree played in a very different way in this Test match. He was aggressive, but at the same time, he controlled his emotions. That is important because you don't want to go into a match riding on emotion. The way he looked in this Test, he will be fine."
India will go into the next Test without Gautam Gambhir, who will be attending his sister's wedding on December 3, and Dhoni said he won't be able to decide if the opener was missed until after the game. "If we lose early wickets, he will be missed. But there are things you have to adjust with and move on. This is one of those situations where we can't do much. Hopefully, whoever opens with Virender Sehwag will get us off to a good start."
The victory was India's 100th in Test cricket in 432 matches, making them the sixth team to reach the milestone. "It is a privilege to be a part of this side, but it has happened because of the 250 players that came in and played before me, and a few others after me," Dhoni said.
"Fortunately I am the captain of the side right now, but it's the contribution of hundreds of players that we have reached so far."
indianachu : 03
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