Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni India eye encore, revenge fuels Lanka

The 3-2 win last year fresh in mind, India will seek to maintain their supremacy while revenge will be on top of Sri Lanka's mind when the neighbours square off in the first ODI of the five-match cricket series in Dambulla on Wednesday (January 28).

Under the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India have been in ominous form in both forms of the game and the 5-0 whitewash against England in the ODI series at home gives a fair indication of the side's might. In contrast, Sri Lanka have not been as convincing.

Under their off-colour skipper Mahela Jayawardene, the islanders struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and lost to Bangladesh in a recent tri-series in Dhaka.

Things looked better in the hastily arranged three-match ODI series in Pakistan where they lost the series opener before eventually clinching the series with back-to-back wins.

Despite holding a slight edge over the hosts, the lone worry for Dhoni remains the spin attack which sports an inexperienced look in the absence of injured off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who has played just five ODIs so far, would spearhead the spin attack, while uncapped Saurashtra all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would also be expected to chip in.

Dhoni himself realises what it means not to have Harbhajan in the ranks but reckons he can always fall back on the part-time options he has in Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

"Harbhajan has been our pick of the spinners for some time. Whether you are bowling first or second or bowling in powerplays, he is the person," Dhoni said.

"But we have two spinners in the side, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja. I think they will try to fill in the space left by Harbhajan's absence. Of course we have part-timers also who have done well. It is an opportunity for both the spinners to prove themselves," he added.

Otherwise, there apparently is no chink in the Indian armour but Dhoni insists it would be fatal to lower the guard, especially playing Sri Lanka at their den.

"It will be a tough series. It is tough to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka though we had defeated them the last time around," Dhoni said.

For Jayawardene, the key is to stick to the winning ways. "Our strategy will be to try and continue the winning momentum. It is going to be a tough series and we look forward to the challenge," he said.

"We lost the first game against Pakistan. It was really tough for us to come back. We had a chat and we knew exactly what went wrong. Next two games was history," the Lankan skipper said.

Still on paper, the balance looks tilted in India's fovour considering the consistency they have shown in recent past. India have arguably the best opening pair at the moment with the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in cracking form.

Despite his age, Sachin Tendulkar remains as hungry for runs as ever, while few can match Yuvraj Singh's striking ability in this format.

Among the youngsters, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have already proved their credentials while Yusuf Pathan would be there down the order to provide the late charge.

The pace bowling department also has a formidable look about it with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma forming a lethal new ball pair.

Sri Lanka's bowling doesn't look bad either. Nuwan Kulasekara is currently the number two bowler in the ICC ODI rankings while Thilana Kulasekara has been consistently among the wickets.

However, all eyes would be on their spin attack which comprises two of the most exciting turners of the ball of this era. Veteran Muttiah Muralitharan needs three more wickets to overtake Wasim Akram's ODI tally of 502 scalps and that would make him the highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game.

At the other end, Ajantha Mendis would fancy his chances against the same Indian line-up which he wrecked in the Asia Cup final last year.

Squads (From): India: MS Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.

Dhoni hopes Yuvraj gets a hat-trick of centuries

Kanpur, Nov 19 (IANS) India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hopes in-form Yuvraj Singh gets a third consecutive century in the third One-Day International against England here Thursday.

'I hope he (Yuvraj) scores his third consecutive century here and that would suit the team as well,' Dhoni told reporters after a practice session at the Green Park Stadium here Wednesday.

Yuvraj has been in rampaging form with an unbeaten 138 in Rajkot and 118 in Indore, where he also picked up four wickets.

'Yuvraj, when on song, is simply one of the best, even the top bowlers struggle against him. As a captain, I have noticed that all big players who slog down the order are left-handers, probably because the bowlers have sorted out the right-handers. They can bowl yorker or low fulltoss to a right-hander, but struggle to find the right line for the left-handers,' Dhoni said.

The India captain also said that as Yuvraj was making a come-back he motivated the left-handed batsman to play his natural game.

'I told him see the ball and hit it. At times when a player goes through a bad patch, you have to keep him motivated. But all the players in the team are very talented and you cannot really change their basics. All you can do is to motivate them,' he said.

Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag skipped the practice session and Dhoni said that since it was an optional session the players decided to take some rest. But Ishant Sharma, who was rested for the first two matches, has been declared fit and is expected to play.

'In the Test series against Australia, he (Ishant) bowled long spells and was tired. But even then, bowling his third spell of the day, he gave it his best and bowled his heart out, putting in the same amount of effort. You have to take care of kids like him,' Dhoni said.

'He is just 19 or 20, you have to make sure that he does not sustain injuries and remains in the right frame of mind.'

Rudra Pratap Singh, who has been unimpressive so far, is expected to make way for Ishant.

'Look, he (Rudra Pratap) has not played for a while and its always difficult to make a comeback. It is at times like this that you need to completely back him. He has been one of the best bowlers against England and even though he is looking bit rusty, the team will back him and we hope he comes back strong,' Dhoni said.

Third ODI at Kanpur: India vs England

Yusuf Pathan and wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni celebrate the stumping of Paul Collingwood during the 3rd One Day International between India and England played at The green park Stadium on November 20, 2007 in Kanpur, India.

Second Indore ODI: India vs England - MS Dhoni

Earlier, Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat and retained the XI that thrashed the tourists by 158 runs at Rajkot on Friday. England too reposed faith in their losing XI despite Ryan Sidebottom, who missed the opener due to a heel injury, fit to play and available.

Players Should Be given Rest - Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has warned that players will increasingly be forced to skip matches because of burnout caused by an overloaded cricket calendar.

Dhoni, who sat out India's three-test series in Sri Lanka in July and August, said Wednesday that excessive cricket both international and provincial was exhausting the players.

"It's getting increasingly tough. It's important for a player to decide when he cannot take it anymore," Dhoni said ahead of Thursday's one-day international between India and England here.

"I opted out of the test series in Sri Lanka because I needed a break," Dhoni said.

"Players know their body best and in future more and more players will come out and say that they are going to skip events," he said.

The one-day series against England will be followed by two tests. The one-week gap between the one-dayers and the tests will be used to stage the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League.

Dhoni is captain of Chennai Super Kings, one of two Indian teams in the Champions League which also features provincial teams from Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan.

If the Super Kings reach the final, on Dec. 10 in the southern city of Chennai, Dhoni may miss the match because the first test against England begins the following morning in the western city of Ahmadabad.

The Indian board asked England if the first test could start a day later, but the itinerary was not changed because that would leave just two days' gap between the tests.

"For me, the country comes first," Dhoni said. "I'd like to play the test match if I have to make a choice."

Indian Captain Dhoni praises Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh's consecutive one-day centuries against England, after having been dropped from the Test squad, have won him rich praise from India's captain and selectors ahead of the third match of the series Thursday.

Yuvraj hit a dominant 138 from just 78 balls in the series opener in Rajkot and followed it with a composed 118 in the second one-dayer at Indore - where he also snared four wickets - to take man-of-the-match honours in successive matches.

Riding on Yuvraj's dominant knocks, India has surged to a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series.

"I hope he scores his third consecutive century here," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said at training Wednesday at Green Park Stadium.

"On song, Yuvraj is simply one of the best, even the top bowlers struggle against him," said Dhoni. "Yuvraj is a strong-hitter and hits along the ground."

Yuvraj ignored back pain to make himself available for the England series, as he was eager to keep himself on the selection radar after being dropped from the Test squad following poor form on the recent tour to Sri Lanka.

India's chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth said Yuvraj's form had pushed his claim to fill the Test squad's middle-order slot vacated by retirement of former skipper Sourav Ganguly.

"Yuvraj is definitely a front-runner" for Test selection, Srikkanth was quoted as saying Tuesday in The Telegraph in Calcutta.

"Over the years, he has already shown he's a match-winner in one-day internationals. I see Yuvraj as a potential match-winner in Tests too."

India's pace attack for the third one-day match will be strengthened by the return of Ishant Sharma, who was declared fit Wednesday after missing the opening two matches with an ankle sprain.

"In the Test series against Australia, Ishant bowled long spells and was tired," Dhoni said. "But even then, he gave it his best and bowled his heart out."

'Country comes first' - Dhoni

MS Dhoni said he would opt for the Test match if it comes to a choice between the Champions League final or the first Test against England. Although on expected lines, the statement nonetheless is significant, considering the amount of talk going around on the primacy of Test cricket.

"I am not aware about what exactly is happening, but of course the country comes first. This is for the BCCI to decide and I will go by whatever it decides, but if it comes down to a choice between the two, I will obviously play the Test," said Dhoni, on being asked about the BCCI's request to the ECB to delay the Test series by a day.

Dhoni also brushed aside the suggestion that the Champions League and the talk around it might prove a distraction for the team. "All we are concerned about right now is the upcoming match. We aren't thinking about anything else, not even the ODIs after Kanpur or the Test series. So, I don't think the upcoming league could distract us," he declared.

The skipper also didn't take kindly to the suggestion that it was primarily the big money on offer that that was pushing players into non-stop cricket. "I don't think money is always an issue. We (the Indian players) make enough money to take care of ourselves just after playing two -three years of international cricket. It's more the love of the game and the passion to represent the country that keeps the player going," explained Dhoni.

Besides, said the Indian skipper, the players could opt for rest whenever they feel the need to do so. "I opted out of the Sri Lanka series for I felt I might have got injured if I had continued playing then. I think we will see many more players coming up and asking for rest whenever they want to, for the Board too is very keen on it," said Dhoni.

That board too is thinking favourably about rotating player and that should come as a relief to the players who are slogging continuously in this non-stop cricket calendar of the present times. All they would need to summon is some self belief and sense of security to avail the much-needed allowance.

Man-of-the-match Yuvraj Singh

Man-of-the-match Yuvraj Singh was on a song. He not only continued his brilliant run with the bat by scoring his second successive century but he also came up trumps with the ball, claiming four wickets, as India beat England by 54 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the seven-match One-Day Hero Honda Cup.