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 MS Dhoni won the toss

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.