India skipper MS Dhoni wants his fellow batters to take no early chances against the Aussie bowlers in today's crucial game at Barbados
India skipper MS Dhoni wants his fellow batters to take no early chances against the Aussie bowlers in today's crucial game at Barbados
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| Australian pacer Shaun Tait (centre) celebrates with Michael Clarke and David Hussey (right) after dismissing Pak captain Shahid Afridi on May 2 in Gros Islet, St Lucia. PIC/AFP |
"Respect the bowlers." That's the message Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent out to his team on the eve of today's ICC World T20 game against the Australians.
"We must remember that Twenty20 cricket does not mean hitting all the balls you receive. You cannot go after every delivery," said Dhoni here yesterday.
Not many captains speak about what their approach is going to be like, but Dhoni had no problems in driving home some truths. "My approach will be simple ufffd try not to lose wickets at the start. See off the new ball and keep wickets intact and then go for the slog. We MUST not lose early wickets," he said. The Australians have not experienced a World T20 title triumph but they have an awesome outfit and their pace attack of Doug Nannes, Shaun Tait and Ryan Harris can be a handful if they get their rhythm going. The bowlers were part of the last Indian Premier League. Nannes played for Delhi Daredevils while South Australian Tait wore Rajasthan Royals' colours. Harris was a member of Deccan Chargers.
Dhoni revealed that there could be some traditional bounce in the track. The two wins ufffd over Afghanistan and South Africa have to be left behind. "We start afresh; we are playing at a different stage of the tournament," he said. Team sources reveal that Dhoni may open the bowling with either offie Harbhajan Singh or leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. The probable XI: Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Piyush Chawla.
