Dhoni & Co eyeing hat-trick of wins to stretch lead

Amlan Chakraborty
Mohali, Nov 1 (PTI) Cloaked in an aura of formidability
acquired from back-to-back wins but struck by injury problems,
the Indian team would be gunning for a treble of triumphs to
stretch their lead against a depleted Australia in the fourth
cricket one-dayer here tomorrow.
With explosive openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir
uncertain after picking up injuries in the third one-dayer,
which India won by six wickets, the hosts have been forced to
bring in Dinesh Karthik as a cover batsman.
While Sehwag was hit on the foot by a Peter Siddle yorker
last night, Gambhir was struck by a Ricky Ponting pull while
fielding.
But India's injury worries pale when compared to the
blows the Aussies have taken. They landed in India a depleted
side and things have only got worse for them.
The first three matches of the series have been sort of a
statement by Dhoni's men -- that they are ready to take over
as the top ODI side of the world and incumbent Australia, laid
low by spate of injuries, does not look in a position to halt
their rampaging hosts.
So far, India have displayed the consistency that is the
hallmark of every great team and bouncing back after losing
the series opener speaks volume of their resilience.
And in the last two matches, the manner -- and not merely
the margin -- of their victories suggest here is a team which
can win from all positions.
In the Vadodara run-feast, India nearly completed a
fairytale chase. The gap between the cup and lip was
eventually bridged in Nagpur where they buried their opponents
under a run-mountain and the Australians have not recovered
from the shellacking yet.
The comprehensive win in Nagpur was followed by a
clinical victory in Delhi and the six-wicket win on a low
Ferozeshah Kotla track would do a world of good to India's
booming confidence.
Back in the side after a while, Yuvraj Singh proved he is
not just another mindless slogger who looks vulnerable against
quality spinners on turning tracks. Dhoni, on his part, once
again underlined his maturity and also his growing stature as
a finisher.
Since the Vadodara defeat, there has been a marked
improvement in all three areas which now look in apple-pie
order.
Suddenly it's a pleasant scenario in the pace department
with Ashish Nehra continuing to impress, Ishant Sharma
returning to rhythm and Praveen Kumar among the wickets.
Among their slow bowl colleagues, Ravindra Jadeja has
impressed so much that front-line spinner Harbhajan Singh
suddenly finds himself under pressure.
Even Dhoni conceded the other day that Harbhajan is not
at his best but the off-spinner has never lacked motivation
against Australia and, as his captain hopes, is maybe just one
game away from being his usual self which makes him such a
dreaded opponent.
"Harbhajan is bowling well even though he has not picked
that many wickets. But I think he bowled well today and gained
lot of confidence. Hopefully he will deliver in the next few
matches," Yuvraj said of his teammate.
Fielding is the other area where India has made rapid
improvements after their slipshod show in Vadodara. Both
ground fielding and catching have been impeccable so far.
The hosts have pulled up their socks in this department
so much that the Australians, with a reputation for being a
tidy fielding unit, have looked a lousy lot.
The improvement in these two departments notwithstanding,
batting remains India's forte and Dhoni has few reasons to
worry about the line-up.
Sachin Tendulkar is just 47 runs away from his 17,000th
ODI runs and the batting great would like to finish the
formalities here itself when he walks out to bat tomorrow.
His opening partner Virender Sehwag is also in good nick
even though he has not been able to convert the cameos into
match-winning scores.
"Viru has given us good starts in the last two games and
I'm looking forward to a big century from him," Yuvraj said.
Yuvraj himself is in pristine form, pacing his innings in
Delhi with amazing maturity that showed his batting is far
from being one-dimensional.
"Some times I get this criticism from you guys that I
cannot play well on such slow tracks. So it was great to prove
you guys wrong," Yuvraj told reporters, flashing an impish
smile.
In contrast, the mood in the Australian camp is of
exasperation and the outfit looked jaded in absence of a
number of front-line players.
The visitors had already flown in two last-minute
replacements to shore up the side but the absence of Brett Lee
has been felt in the last two matches.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting had no qualms admitting
that injuries have made life difficult for him and he himself
had to open the innings tomorrow in the absence of regular
openers.
More than batting, injuries have laid bare the thinness
of Australia's bowling resources and Ponting apparently
doesn't have a quick solution in sight even though he insisted
on putting the best foot forward.
"Injury has hit us hard. Lot of guys are in and out of
the side. Brett (Lee) could play just one game before
returning. Mitchell Johnson is only coming up now and James
Hopes is not playing yet. But we have to try to get on with it
and play the best game we can. We have to give 100 percent," a
glum Ponting said. PTI AY