Mahendra Singh Dhoni chose to play his cards close to his chest ahead of Sunday's tri-series tie against Australia, remaining non-committal on the possibility of Virender Sehwag returning to the playing eleven. Sehwag had been dropped for India's last two matches at the Adelaide Oval.

"If you play four bowlers, there is no question of dropping Virender Sehwag but when you stick to five bowlers, it's a question of who you drop," the Indian one-day skipper said on Saturday. "We have not decided on the combination yet. You can afford to play five bowlers if your batsmen are performing well. But we are only doing well in bits and pieces. If we can be consistent, that will be really good."

Hailing Yuvraj Singh's blazing 76 the other night against Sri Lanka, Dhoni remarked, "It is a good sign. Players like Yuvraj and Sehwag at the top of the order score at a strike rate of at least 100 percent. They are good runners too and ease the pressure off the middle order."

Batting combinations

India have tried out different combinations and batting orders in a bid to hit upon the winning formula. Asked how far the experiment had progressed, Dhoni replied, "I don't think we are sure about the pattern or the slots in which they will bat. One of the good things is the batsmen have adapted. We have had openers who have batted at numbers three, six or seven. That really helps you."

This tri-series has been notable for low team scores. "Batsmen have struggled in most games and it is hard to pinpoint the cause," Dhoni admitted. "Maybe the bowlers are doing very well or maybe there is something in the wickets. Slow wickets make it difficult for the batsmen. The new ball does a bit and if you lose early wickets, which has been common in this series, it is difficult to recover and get a big score."

Dhoni added that it was essential for India to win on the morrow. "It's very important to win and seal a spot in the finals. Then you take a bit of pressure off your team. That also gives us the liberty to play other batsmen who may be in good nick but haven't got a chance to play so far. Every game is important, especially when you are playing the top-rated team in the world."

Stressing the need to strike regularly and not focus only on the poor form of Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting, Dhoni pointed out, "More than concentrating on key batsmen, if we can get regular breakthroughs like our bowlers have been doing so far, it would be great. Potentially every batsman in their side is capable of being a match-winner, so it is important to strike regularly."

The team's batting failures have forced Dhoni to sacrifice natural flair for a more circumspect approach, and with good success too. "It's quite difficult, but as long as you're getting runs, you are happy," admitted the Jharkhandi. "It doesn't matter if you are getting them in boundaries or singles. I play according to the situation and demands of the game."