JOIN USDhoni stresses on consolidation
“You cannot give away too many runs with the new ball,” pointed out the Indian skipper, referring to the second innings when the Australian openers took his pacemen to the cleaners. “Once you have got close to the opposition target, you should not lose too many wickets and you should try to get as much lead as possible. If someone gets a start, he should try to make it big.”
There were quite a few dropped catches in the match, ironically from the usually safe Australians as well. “Not dropping catches is an old mantra that is still chanted strongly. It is important not to let them rotate the strike easily and we have seen that run-outs can change the course of this game. You do drop catches, but what really matters is how hard you try in practice sessions. If you do everything right and still drop catches, then it’s okay.
“When you win a game, you just don’t talk much about what went wrong in that game. What we have realised is that even when you win a game, there are areas that need improvement,” he explained after the team’s practice session.
Dhoni refused to commit on VVS Laxman’s availability. “Laxman is much better right now. We will take a call in the evening or tomorrow. At this stage, it’s tough to say he will play because five days of game can be difficult if you are injured at the start, so we will take a call later. As of now, everybody is available for selection apart from Laxman. None of the players has any injury to my knowledge,” he stated.
The series so far has been played in the right spirit. “We always try to play cricket in the best possible manner. We are putting in a lot of effort and at times, we respond to the opposition’s verbals. We try not to get too personal. A bit of chit-chat is fine as long as it doesn’t get too personal. The last Test went off well except for one incident (involving Zaheer Khan and Ricky Ponting). We will try to close this series without any controversies,” Dhoni remarked.
S Sreesanth, Dhoni hoped, would deliver in Ishant Sharma’s absence. “He is bowling well in the nets. There is no major niggle as far as Sreesanth is concerned. Again we will take a call tomorrow. We will go with the combination that best suits us. It is good to have a left-arm seamer along with a right-armer and hopefully he will do well,” he offered.