Team India mulling chasing instead of setting a target against Ireland

Flat Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch forces skipper Dhoni to think about chasing a target against Ireland on Sunday

Team India mulling chasing instead of setting a target against Ireland

Flat Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch forces skipper Dhoni to think about chasing a target against Ireland on Sunday

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is convinced that the M Chinnaswamy pitch here is an absolute belter and is considering fielding first if he wins the toss against Ireland on Sunday.

The Bangalore track offered significant turn during India's warm-up game against Australia, which the hosts won by 38 runs with Piyush Chawla claiming 4-31, on February 13. But the track changed considerably when Dhoni's men took on England a fortnight later.

"After the practice match against Australia, everybody was worried about the track being a turner. I think after that match, the pitches had been watered and rolled a lot every day. That's why the track is so easy now," Dhoni told MiD DAY yesterday.

"Batting on this wicket is easy especially under lights. We have begun to think about batting second, but it's not yet decided," he added.

Dhoni praised Ireland's effort against England when they overhauled a target of 328 with five balls to spare.

"Until yesterday, the critics were calling them minnows. Those who switched off their TV sets would have realised whether they are minnows or not when they woke up next morning," said the skipper, who watched the Ireland innings from his hotel room. "Ireland batted brilliantly... they were superb! Nowadays you can't ignore or disrespect any team. World cricket has changed now."

Meanwhile, the support staff of the Indian team came up with yet another novel team-bonding exercise to break the monotony that comes with a long tournament. The squad was divided into two equal groups which were givenu00a0 a task of depositing 250 tennis balls into four tubs. With only three minutes given to accomplish the task in the backdrop of vibrant music, it was a lot of fun mixed with hectic activity.

"It was organised to build team-bonding. When you miss the ball, your partner tries to help you out. Basically, it was a team game; it was about camaraderie," Sachin Tendulkar told MiD DAY.

The brain behind the idea was the team's mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton. "It's a new kind of team activity. We try to do something different from the routine; different from the daily practice. You can say this activity makes you a better team-man. It helps improve concentration too," Upton said.

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