No plan to bat at No. 3 throughout the T20 World Cup: Dhoni

Trent Bridge, June 11 (PTI) India captain Mahendra Singh
Dhoni on Thursday made it clear that he has no plans to bat at
the number three slot throughout the Twenty20 World Cup and
claimed it was a part of the team's experiment with the
batting order.

Even though an in-form Suresh Raina seems the more
logical choice for the slot, Dhoni has been coming at one down
in the Twenty20 World Cup but with little success.

After India's eight-wicket triumph over Ireland, the
Indian captain was asked if he plans to continue occupying the
slot for the remainder of the tournament to which Dhoni
replied, "Not really."

Dhoni said the team was experimenting with the batting
order and hence he was coming at number three.


"We are trying a few things. I think we have to see what
combination we are playing with and decide depending on that,"
he said.

Dhoni, meanwhile, was relieved with Zaheer Khan's
sterling performance against Ireland as the left-arm seamer
grabbed four wickets, besides the Man of the Match award.

"It's really good that he is back in form," Dhoni said of
Zaheer who was nursing a shoulder injury till the other day.

"We knew he would take one more game to get back to
groove and that's what we saw today. He was back in the
groove, swinging the ball and hitting the right areas," Dhoni
said.

"It's good to have bowlers like him, especially when he
has been planning for other bowlers also. He is a good asset
to have," Dhoni added.

On Wednesday night's match against Ireland , Dhoni said
he was happy with the bowlers' performance but felt fielding
was not up to the mark.

"Our bowlers did really well with the new ball and the
spinners did their job too. I'm happy with our bowling. But on
the field, we didn't perform our best. We can definitely be
better in the field. It's like 80-90 percent efficiency. I'm
getting demanding but I know we can do it," Dhoni said.

The defending champions hardly broke a sweat as they
cruised into the Super Eight stage but Dhoni warned from
here on they cannot to take any match lightly.

"It's good to be in Super Eight. From now, each and every
game would be difficult," he said.

Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan was visibly elated after his
four-wicket haul and the left-arm seamer said it felt good to
be back among wickets.

"Good that I got a few wickets. This is one of my
favourite grounds in England and obviously picking wickets
would boost my confidence," he said.

Zaheer also vowed to give his best and solve the team's
bowling woes at the death.

"Bowling at the death is my strength and I have been
doing for the team. I can get a few yorkers in and I'm looking
forward to Super Eight," he said.

Zaheer also felt that the consistency of both the
spinners -- Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha -- had lent
balance to the Indian attack.

"We are working well as a bowling unit, that is very
important. Now we have lots of bowling options. So far I
haven't bowled my quota of four overs, which is great," Zaheer
quipped.

Despite the heavy defeat, Ireland captain William
Porterfield took it in strides and said his team fought well
against a fancied side.

"The wicket did a bit early on. They bowled well early on
and we nicked a couple but we batted better later on," he
said.

"We fought really well. Losing Nial (O'Brien) and (Trent)
Johnston wasn't easy but we are not going to make any
complaints," he added. PTI AY
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