It's perform or perish for out-of-sort Dhoni's men

India must win today to keep their hopes afloat

It’s a difficult task to count how many times India have been found themselves in a similar do-or-die situation. 

At one stage early in the tri-series, they looked to have found their rhythm for the first time since landing in Australia, but back-to-back defeats against Australia and Sri Lanka in Brisbane have hurt their chances of qualifying for the finals of the triangular series. 

Now, nothing short of two wins in as many matches will serve their purpose, and they have to take a bold step forward against Australia on Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which will host its final international tie before undergoing a massive facelift. 

But it won’t be as easy because defeat against Sri Lanka at Hobart in a close match might still be stinging Australia, and the Kangaroos are quite dangerous in such situations. 

India will also be without pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, certain to sit out of morrow’s match due to a calf injury, and the impressive R Vinay Kumar, who is suffering from a hamstring niggle sustained against Sri Lanka at the Gabba, too is highly unlikely to play.

In that scenario, India will have to call back Praveen Kumar to partner Irfan Pathan, while Umesh Yadav will be the third seamer. The problem with the bowling line-up is that Praveen hasn’t played a match since the opening game against Australia in Melbourne, and Umesh has been too expensive in this event, leaving Pathan to do the bulk of the work. 

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni explained the logic behind not playing Praveen after the first one-dayer, while also ruling out any injury concerns for the Uttar Pradesh medium-pacer. “We want him to work a bit more. He bowled a bit short in that first game. After that, if you see the bowlers who played in his place, they have done well. Vinay is bowling really well. Umesh has been a touch expensive, but he is someone who is capable of giving us wickets when it’s really needed. 

“We all know Praveen is very talented. He can swing the ball, and bowl in the right areas. I think he must have utilised the time off in the best possible way. Hopefully, he will be ready, just in case Vinay doesn’t play,” said Dhoni, who will return to lead the side after missing the match against Lanka and will replace Parthiv Patel in the eleven.

Dhoni’s problems do not end with a seemingly underwhelming bowling attack. The Young Turks in the batting line-up, expected to come good in the tournament, are yet to fire, and India had to drop Rohit Sharma from the previous game against Sri Lanka. 

Virat Kohli has sparkled in patches, but Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja have been big disappointments. But Dhoni kept faith in them to come good. “It’s important to keep having a chat with them. What is important is to take them forward in a positive way.

When you have lost a game, when people are a bit low, I don’t think that’s the right time to pin-point the mistake. That can actually put pressure on the individual. They just need to read the situation of the game better, and they won’t commit the mistake again,” he said. 

It’s imperative that India as a whole don’t commit too many errors as Australia have a fantastic record at the SCG against India. Though Dhoni’s men defeated Australia in their last meeting on March 2, 2008 at this ground by six wickets, the home side enjoys a huge upper hand. They have been victorious in 11 out of 12 matches played here against India. 

History favours Australia, but India are quite capable of rewriting history, but only if the predicted rains stay away.