The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Sports | Just too much left to do
Just too much left to do
- Dhoni’s men take on West indies with a mission and a prayer
LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Johannesburg: Even the most gifted scriptwriter couldn’t have visualised the Indian cricketers actually wanting Pakistan to win!
All for selfish reasons, no doubt, but that’s exactly how the 2009 Champions Trophy-cookie has crumbled for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men.
Indeed, the abandonment of Monday’s match against world champions and holders Australia, in Centurion, has almost knocked Team India out of the tournament.
Beginning with the praying, there’s just too much to do on Wednesday.
To qualify for the semi-finals, Dhoni and Co. have to (a) hope that Pakistan thrash Australia in the day game at Centurion and (b) that they themselves whip the West Indies in the day-night match at the Wanderers here.
It’s an ask taller than the Petronas Towers in KL.
In fact, there’s every chance that even a massive win against the under-strength West Indies may mean nothing. So far, the Floyd Reifers have merely been completing the numbers in this edition.
However, the wicket at the Wanderers was back to doing quite a bit, on Tuesday, and the West Indies quicks can be expected to make things hot even if the temperature again dips in Johannesburg.
As things stand in Group A, Pakistan are assured of one semi-final berth, with Australia set to take the other.
“Our strategy and the composition of our XI would be clear by the afternoon, by when the first innings of the Pakistan-Australia game would be over... It’s an odd match for us, where there’ll be everything to achieve,” Dhoni said.
He added: “Hopefully, Pakistan will win... One may expect Indian fans to cheer for them... I wouldn’t say there’s a winning formula as such, for if there was one, then all teams would be applying it... Younis Khan’s a good captain, I don’t need to give any advice.”
According to Dhoni, his team had been doing “everything” to prepare well. “On days, we’ve put in four-five hours of practice... One can accept defeat as long as one has prepared well... I’ve always maintained that winning and losing is part of the game.”
Asked if he’d been concerned by, among other things, a fall in his quicks’ pace, Dhoni replied: “Not really... The bigger concern is over line and length... South Africa had the fastest, but they went for runs... Line and length counts for the most...”
Dhoni made the point that if a policy of rotation was to be implemented and the bench strength wasn’t exactly up to it, then a “few defeats would’ve to be accepted.” He added: “Rotation is a process of saving the big players and giving exposure to the younger ones.”
Rotation hasn’t been attempted in South Africa, but the non-availability of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan (all through injuries) has left a huge hole.
While no decision has been taken on the XI, Dinesh Karthik may make it at the expense of a specialist bowler if the batting needs to be strengthened.
Five specialists, including Amit Mishra, were fielded against Australia.
Meanwhile, Pakistan don’t intend doing India a favour, but don’t want to lose momentum either. “We’ve won two matches and momentum is important,” a member of the team management told The Telegraph.
Not that favours have really been granted, but the Andrew Strauss-Graeme Smith ‘showdown’ the other night has taken the no-holds-barred bit in cricket to another level.
“I’ve got to look at what’s good for my team... It would be nice to beat Australia... It’s always good to win against top teams... Things shouldn’t become political... Personally, I’d like a Pakistan-India final... I’d said the same thing during the World T20,” Younis maintained.
Match starts: 6 pm (IST).