CB series: 1st Finals: Match Preview

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept his cards close to his chest regarding team composition and generally talked in riddles. More... We have to put Australia under pressure: Dhoni Agencies Posted online: Saturday , March 01, 2008 at 1343 hrs IST Sydney, March 1:: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni reckons that the ‘best method’ to beat Australia in the cricket tri-series finals was to ‘put them under pressure’ and his young team was capable of turning the tables on the world champions. "Australia is a side which likes to keep other teams under pressure. So the best method is to keep them under pressure. Fortunately, they have been under pressure in this series and it will be good if we can keep it that way," Dhoni said on the eve of the crucial match. Dhoni said toss would be important in Sunday's first finals to be played under lights. "Toss is important as teams would like to bat under the sun. Under the lights, it does a bit before it becomes a flat track again," he said. Dhoni kept his cards close to his chest regarding team composition and generally talked in riddles, except while defending his youngsters. The big question on everyone's lips was the final eleven given his penchant for five bowlers and reluctance to play Virender Sehwag in all the games. "Sachin will open that's for sure. It's about his partner. Actually it's quite confusing whether to play five or four bowlers; to go into the game with 3-2 or 4-1 or 4 plus part-timers," he said. Dhoni did not want to comment if he has evolved as captain and was flippant when asked if there was something about the Sydney water, as rival captain Ricky Ponting had said the other day, which was causing the bad blood to exist between the two teams. "May be they should get a few samples of the water to the lab and get it tested. It doesn't make a difference to us anyway as we've been drinking mineral water," was the cryptic reply of Dhoni beneath a typically benign smile playing on his face. The Indian skipper was asked if Matthew Hayden was rested in Friday's game, instead of being provided with practice before the finals, as a mark of punishment for his unprovoked remarks against Harbhajan Singh the other day. "May be he was given break because he wanted to be in the boxing ring, he wanted to box," said Dhoni barely able to control his giggle as he offered his reply. As for the possibility that his side could create history, Dhoni was again at his flippant best. "I don't know about creating or not history but you become a part of history, whether for good or bad, once you play." Dhoni has the rein of India's young brigade for sometime now but he did not want to comment if his captaincy has had a learning curve in the last few months. "Too many things have happened as a captain for me to state in a short time of a press conference," said Dhoni, without pausing and reflecting on the question.

[Dirty_South]

"May be they should get a few samples of the water to the lab and get it tested. It doesn't make a difference to us anyway as we've been drinking mineral water," was the cryptic reply of Dhoni beneath a typically benign smile playing on his face.

:haha:

[Zakhmi]

India keen to exploit Australia's middle order batting woes This part is interesting, lets see if things turn out the other way...

Never in the 30-year-old history of the triangular series have Indians managed even a solitary win in the finals against the hosts. India's three previous experiences -- in 1985-86, 1991-92 and 2003-04 -- had resulted in straight drubbings but Australia's slipshod form this season promises a turn for the better for the Indians. Ironically for all his unprecedented success, Tendulkar hasn't managed a hundred in 20 outings against Australia all these years; nor one against other teams in 38 matches in all he has played on Australian soil.

[IndianRenegade]

CB series: 1st Finals: Match Preview All set for a compelling finale After going at each other for the past two months, Australia and India clash in the first of three finals at the SCG on Sunday, and if recent encounters are any clue, expect some gripping cricket. Both have been involved in plenty of controversial moments on and off the field, adding to the entire drama which has made this last edition of the CB Series an enthralling affair. A look back at the league phase, which ended on Friday in Melbourne with Australia losing narrowly to Sri Lanka, indicates that though India had a much tougher time getting to the finals, both teams have had similar strengths and problems: both the batting line-ups are yet to find fluency even after eight games, but their bowlers have been getting better with every match.

Brett Lee has been the stand-out bowler for Australia, and no batsman has been consistently stand up to him

In the four previous clashes against India in this tournament, Australia managed to win twice, in Adelaide and in Sydney, lost in Melbourne, while their first clash had ended in a washout. Luckily for India they have had a valuable four-day rest after their previous game in Hobart, where they scored an emphatic victory against the Sri Lankans. After Australia's defeat on Friday, Ponting admitted that the result has robbed them of some momentum going into the final, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni wants to ensure that India capitalise on that. "Australia look to dominate always so it's important to put them under pressure and they have been under pressure," Dhoni said at the SCG. "So I just hope we maintain that pressure." Aware of the flat nature of the SCG wicket, both captains will not dither in batting first. Australia had piled 317, the highest total in the tournament so far, and India, after a top-order collapse, scampered to within 17 runs of the target. Australia have maintained an almost unchanged team throughout, and their only likely change to Friday's team is the inclusion of Matthew Hayden - who was rested on Friday - for Brad Haddin, with James Hopes slipping down to No. 7.

Ishant Sharma: India's success story of the summer

For India, though, a few problems persist regarding team composition. Dhoni said there is still "confusion" about his final XI and the main "concern" remains the opening partner for Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has opened with three different partners in the eight games - five times with Virender Sehwag, twice with Gautam Gambhir and once with Robin Uthappa. India's best start came in their second game, against Sri Lanka, when Tendulkar and Sehwag cracked a 68-run stand. The next best was 45 between the same pair in Canberra against the same opponents, but in the last four games India have had dismal starts of 18, 3, 2 and 20. Apart from the 107-run opening partnership on Friday between Adam Gilchrist and James Hopes, Australia have faced the same problem at the top of the order: in the seven games when Gilchrist opened with Hayden, the pair only managed a highest of 65, with a second-highest of 33. A nagging concern has also been the form of two of their top batsmen, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, both of whom have flourished in just one game so far. Despite the wobbly nature of their middle order Australia have managed to steal victories and much of the credit goes to Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, who have withstood the opposition bowling onslaught time and again to consolidate and push the side out of danger. Calling it right at the toss has also helped the Australians, who have preferred to bat first and then call upon their magnificent bowlers to strangle the opposition. On the two occasions when they have chased a target, it's been hard work: in the series opener, against India at the Gabba, Australia were 3 for 51 in the eighth over when rain ended the game; on Friday they were 1 for 107 in the 15th over chasing 221, and yet managed to lose the game by 13 runs. The success story for both teams has been their bowling attack. Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have proved to be constant thorns for the opposition, while Brett Lee has been an outstanding spearhead for Australia. He has bowled throughout the summer with a hostility that no batsman has been able to consistently stand up to. Lee's closing spell at the MCG when India were chasing a small total was one of the best of the summer, while Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken and James Hopes have offered excellent support. Just like in the Test series, the off-field banter has fueled the tension on the field. If it was the Harbhajan- Symonds clash that ignited the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Matthew Hayden's comments on Harbhajan and Ishant have ensured there will be no love lost between the two sides on the last leg of the season. Sydney is hosting its annual Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, and the CB Series final couldn't have come at much better time. On the field, though, it's likely to be much more than fun and games. Australia (likely) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10, Mitchell Johnson, 11 Nathan Bracken. India (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Virender Sehwag/Praveen Kumar, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.

[IndianRenegade]

Forget controversial summer - Hussey Michael Hussey wants Australia to ignore Friday's disturbing hit-and-miss performance and recall the strong batting memories from last week at the SCG for the first final. Hussey was one of the many failures as Australia fell from 0 for 107 to 208 all out against Sri Lanka in Melbourne, but he does not believe the display will affect the home team when it faces India in the most crucial one-day match of the season so far. As a spiteful summer draws to a close, Hussey has urged his team to shut out the various distractions, which have ranged from on- and off-field verbals to the shadow of the Indian Premier League, as they attempt to win the last Australian tri-series. "I'd prefer to bury everything and focus on final," he said. "Both teams and the Australian and Indian public have had enough of the controversy." Hussey encouraged his team-mates to take the emotion out of the encounter to achieve their peak performance. "It's important we don't let the distractions play any part on our minds," he said. "If we play on emotions sometimes those distractions can have a detrimental part on your performance. If we take emotion out of it, I think we can play our best and go 1-0 up in the series." A key ingredient to any Australian success is a well-rounded batting performance, which is something that has been missing for much of the series - they have played eight games and only twice passed 250. Despite the stuttering, Hussey expects the more batsman-friendly surface at the SCG to help the side forget the low of Friday night. "There have been difficult conditions in Melbourne during the year and all teams have struggled," he said. "We don't want to look too much into [the MCG performance]. We're looking to our last performance in Sydney, when all the batsmen played particularly well." Ricky Ponting broke free from his run drought with 124 in that game and all of the top six made useful contributions in the total of 7 for 317, which led to an 18-run victory. "We know we're playing well," Hussey said, "and we know we can put on a good performance." Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo © Cricinfo

[IndianRenegade]

Dhoni keeps the focus on cricket Nagraj Gollapudi at the SCG March 1, 2008 Mahendra Singh Dhoni is proud that his young team has reached the finals of the tournament given the scepticism that greeted the squad's announcement. And, as at the World Twenty20 in South Africa last year, he has asked his players not to worry about the end result. "Winning is important, but winning is not everything," Dhoni said on the eve of the finals when asked if lifting the trophy would be a fitting answer to those who questioned his decision to back youth over experience. Then, his voice more animated, he added: "Those doubting this young side when we came in should now analyse how good this side has been from the previous teams that played in Australia. They should analyse the capabilities of the youngsters, how good they are at the international level." Dhoni has led by example - India wouldn't have reached this stage without his rescue acts with the bat and his assured captaincy - but believes the team has been improving since the crushing defeat in the Twenty20 game against Australia. "From then, this team, after the eight ODIs, has shaped up very well. The bowling, batting and running are improving but it can be better still." While providing a word of caution to his team - "It doesn't matter if it's the finals or the semis, we have to get the basics right" - Dhoni emphasised the need to keep things in perspective. "Sometimes we are desperate to win and that's when the pressure mounts, so it's important to be relaxed." That mantra worked for Dhoni when he led an unfancied and inexperienced side to victory at the World Twenty20. They faced some tough situations during the campaign but managed to stay focused, hold their nerve and emerge victorious. The key was Dhoni's leadership. Dhoni knows the finals will not be easy, especially given the controversies in the lead-up, like the Ishant Sharma-Andrew Symonds incident and Matthew Hayden being reprimanded for his remarks on Harbhajan Singh, that have distracted both teams. Dhoni says he doesn't mind the aggression but his primary focus will always be cricket. "Throughout the series many things have been said about individuals but we have still gone on to play good cricket. Cricket is about batting, bowling and fielding. The verbal part remains but we should focus on our cricket." Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

[Zakhmi]

First match of the finals crucial: Vengsarkar

Mumbai: Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar expressing satisfaction over youngsters performances so far in the on-going tri-series in Australia and felt a win in the first final on Sunday was very crucial to beat the Aussies in the three-match finals as both the teams start-off even note. "I don’t see why Indians cannot beat the Aussies in the finals especially after the Australian middle order was exposed by the Sri Lankan bowlers in the last league match of CB Series on Friday". "With both the teams (India and Australia) starting off on even note the first match of the three-match finals becomes very crucial and the team which takes the lead will be very confident going into the second match", Vengsarkar told Cricketnext.com here on Saturday. http://www.cricketnext.com/news/1st-match-of-the-finals-crucial-vengsarkar/30029-13.html

[IndianRenegade]

Indians seek to exploit Aussies' middle-order slump Sydney: India will seek to exploit the batting slump of some of Australia's key batsmen when they clash with the world champions in the first of the best-of-three cricket tri-series finals here on Sunday. Australia's batting has been their Achilles' heels with their middle order, notably captain Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, coming a cropper against the subcontinental rivals in the league stage. Apart from the century he scored in Australia's last game against India, Ponting has been carrying the form slump from the Test series while Symonds has notched up only one half century in eight matches. Matthew Hayden, who was recently reprimanded by his Board for calling Harbhajan Singh a "little obnoxious weed" has also not fired at the top, having scored just one half century and one in the 40s in the seven outings he has played in the tri-series. This is a perfect setting for a confident young Indian side to cash in on their rival's weak point and and hope to put it across the home team. Never in the 30-year-old history of the triangular series have Indians managed even a solitary win in the finals against the hosts. India's three previous experiences -- in 1985-86, 1991-92 and 2003-04 -- had resulted in straight drubbings but Australia's slipshod form this season promises a turn for the better for the Indians. A strategy to keep the likes of Ponting and Symonds silent could mean India again opting for a five-bowler theory on Sunday, which could mean Virender Sehwag cooling his heels in the dressing room. Despite India's poor starts in this competition, and Sehwag's ability to win matches of his own, Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not appear to be entirely convinced of the ability of the Delhi dasher to turn the heat on in the finals. His belief has only gained ground with the success of his bowlers. The latest recruit Praveen Kumar covered himself in glory in Hobart where he won the man-of-the-match award against Sri Lanka with a four-wicket burst. Dhoni himself has been in excellent form, claiming record 16 dismissals in eight matches which has been the most any Indian stumper has managed from a series. The previous mark of 15 scalps belonged to Rahul Dravid during the 2003 World Cup. One of the quiet but outstanding success of the tour for the Indians has been middle-order batsman Gautam Gambhir, who is already on top of the heap with a tally of 423 runs at 70.50 from the league stage. His crisp hitting and marvelous running between the wickets has given him scores of 39, 102 not out, 21, 35, 34, 15, 113 and 64 not out from eight outings. Encouragingly for India, Sachin Tendulkar has given indications of returning to form with that quick-fire 63 against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar has a personal mission to chase in the finals for this is his last opportunity to strike a century in a one-day international in Australia. Ironically for all his unprecedented success, Tendulkar hasn't managed a hundred in 20 outings against Australia all these years; nor one against other teams in 38 matches in all he has played on Australian soil. Numbers also have piled up for India not with bat, ball or in field alone. Indians also have been booked the most by match referees this summer. Four have been reported and three have been found guilty. Dhoni came close to being hauled up for using illegal wicketkeeping gloves before being let off with a reprimand alone. The bad blood between the two teams has ensured that not a seat at the SCG would be vacant tomororow. Match referee Jeff Crowe, and the two umpires, would have to really strain hard to stop things getting out of hands in the middle. Hayden is an automatic starter and his duel with the Indian bowlers, and fielders, would carry a spark of its own. Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds too should be subject to special attention in the field from the Indians, as it would be the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth from the Australians. The conditions at the SCG are likely to help the batsmen though the wicket was pretty damp to start with this afternoon. Hot blazing sun for the rest of the day and on Sunday is predicted which would allow the batsmen to come on to their own. Teams: India (From): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, S. Sreesanth, Virender Sehwag, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla. Australia (From): Ricky Ponting (Capt), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin, Brad Hogg. Match starts 8.45 am IST.

[arkay]

The Indian skipper was asked if Matthew Hayden was rested in Friday's game, instead of being provided with practice before the finals, as a mark of punishment for his unprovoked remarks against Harbhajan Singh the other day. "May be he was given break because he wanted to be in the boxing ring, he wanted to box," said Dhoni barely able to control his giggle as he offered his reply.

:hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:

[maaki]

Dhoni has learnt the art of the Quick talk i guess.. The Mineral water comment was pretty good and so was the comment on the boxing ring.. does he practice it before the interviews.. Should say he is a quick learner..

[Feed]

Give due credit to team: Dhoni Sydney: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his young team should be given credit for reaching the CB tri-series finals. ?A lot of people had written us off before the competition. They should now look at how this young team has ... More... Give due credit to team: Dhoni Special Correspondent Sydney: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his young team should be given credit for reaching the CB tri-series finals. “A lot of people had written us off before the competition. They should now look at how this young team has fought,” he said. The Indian captain added it was important to create pressure against the Aussies. “We should do that to force mistakes,” he said. Dhoni added the side should not be desperate to win. “Sometimes desperation creates the pressure. We have to be relaxed and stick to the basics.” The skipper said his team would concentrate on cricket rather than words. “I am not against aggression on the field as long as we do not cross the line. But we will be focussed with what we have to accomplish on the field. We will be concentrating on how we bat, bowl, field and run between the wickets. We have shown improvement in all areas. “Winning is important, but winning is not everything,” said the Indian skipper. He has been a source of great strength for this side with his leadership, resilient batting and safe glovework. Australia’s Michael Hussey said the host would look more at its last batting performance at the SCG where the team went past the 300-run mark than the collapse at the MCG. “The wicket at the MCG has been difficult for the batsmen all season,” he said. “But we did extremely well here the last time around.” The left-handed batsman, who has been a part of several Aussie fightbacks in the series along with Michael Clarke, said he would like to “bury the past (verbal duels)” and focus on what the side needed to do in the finals. “I think the two teams and the public have had enough of these incidents,” he said.

[Feed]

The final series is really open Can India?s ?generation next? do better than their predecessors, asks Steve Waugh More... The final series is really open Can India’s ’generation next’ do better than their predecessors, asks Steve Waugh Friday’s game between Sri Lanka and Australia might just have made up Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s mind on the decision at the toss. If he wins, he will most certainly opt to bat. Even though conditions at the Sydney Cricket Ground are vastly different from those at the MCG, Australia’s poor form on Friday had more to do with poor batting and less with the conditions. I am certain that India’s young and in-form bowling attack will be a handful on Sunday as they have been troubling the host right through the summer. The way I see it, this final series is really open, and will most probably go down to the third game. Poor form of batsmen The poor form of batsmen from all three teams involved has marked this tri-series. Sri Lanka’s poor form was particularly disappointing, with only Kumar Sangakkara showing some grit and technique. The most disappointing performance was that of Mahela Jayawardene, because he and Sanath Jayasuriya were simply unable to come to terms with the conditions. No wonder they were out of the tournament even before their final game. For the Indians, the main problem has been the top order. Sachin Tendulkar has not been consistent enough, and against Australia, he has been having a couple of problems facing Brett Lee. The little champion looks a little below par, and it does not help that Lee is bowling better than ever before. Apparently, Tendulkar does not have a single three-figure score in Australia in ODIs, and what better time to rectify that statistic than a final? Nevertheless, while Tendulkar has looked less than sublime in this tri-series, I would never write off a champion like him. Gambhir exceptional Among the younger batsmen, Gautam Gambhir has been exceptional. I was particularly impressed by his temperament and the way he plays spin. Rohit Sharma also looks like he is a player to watch out for. These youngsters came in amid much debate about whether to replace one-day veterans like Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. I am sure the old warhorses would have done well in the one-dayers, but the youngsters have not done badly either. One has to look ahead at some point and it’s good that the selectors have decided to plan ahead. For the Australians, their batting continues to be an area of concern. Apart from Adam Gilchrist none of the other guys seem to be in any sort of form. The top order has not been firing, and even Andrew Symonds has had a disappointing series. Great rhythm The fact is that Australia has not played at its best in the tournament so far, and has been lucky to get away with some off-colour batting performances. Its bowlers have been in great rhythm, which is why it lost only two games of the seven it completed in the tournament. However, Australia always plays very well when it is in a final. The big game galvanises it and gets the best out of its batsmen. India on the other hand has always been non-starters in finals. Its record in deciders as well as finals is extremely ordinary. It remains to be seen whether generation next of Indian cricket, which has been pretty impressive in this tournament, can do what its illustrious predecessors were unable to in 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 by winning a final in Australia!

[flamy]

lol Dhoni has always been awesome with the press, we could observe this from the 2020 wc itself. It is obvious that he is damn comfortable with the media and he exudes an easy confidence. Also, I liked the way he flicked off the presenter of the post-match ceremony when he was holding the mic upto praveen kumar. haha, and of course we all remember him joshing Ravi Shastri :giggle:

[fineleg]

lol Dhoni has always been awesome with the press' date=' we could observe this from the 2020 wc itself. It is obvious that he is damn comfortable with the media and he exudes an easy confidence. Also, I liked the way he flicked off the presenter of the post-match ceremony when he was holding the mic upto praveen kumar. haha, and of course we all remember him joshing Ravi Shastri :giggle:

:two_thumbs_up:

[Ram]

I did open a thread saying Dhoni is the best Indian captain I have seen and his handling of the media is one of the reasons too. Azhar was pathetic, Sachin was at his boring best while Ganguly and Dravid were ok. But Dhoni is just at his brilliant best when fielding questions from the press. Apart from the odd blooper here and there, he has been impeccable. His best trait is that he faces upto the most tough and uncomfortable questions with a smile on his face. I am convinced Dhoni will go on to be the most successful Indian captain ever. The faster he is handed over the test captaincy, the better.

[fineleg]

I did open a thread saying Dhoni is the best Indian captain I have seen and his handling of the media is one of the reasons too. Azhar was pathetic, Sachin was at his boring best while Ganguly and Dravid were ok. But Dhoni is just at his brilliant best when fielding questions from the press. Apart from the odd blooper here and there, he has been impeccable. His best trait is that he faces upto the most tough and uncomfortable questions with a smile on his face. I am convinced Dhoni will go on to be the most successful Indian captain ever. The faster he is handed over the test captaincy, the better.

kumble doing good job with test side, and he can handle media too

[King]

The only way to win is to play good cricket i.e bat well, bowl well and field well. Outside that anything like putting under pressure and the rest is all futile. People that say that never quite know what that means. They just say it because of repeated use of these words.

[Zakhmi]

The only way to win is to play good cricket i.e bat well' date=' bowl well and field well. Outside that anything like putting under pressure and the rest is all futile. People that say that never quite know what that means. They just say it because of repeated use of these words.[/quote'] The only thing is that Indian team blushes/forgets to deliver its mettle when it is needed the most. People, however they say, it is the team and players who have to come up and realize about their exact duties and indulgence in the cause of nation's victory.

[Zakhmi]

Symonds has shown a particular liking to the triangular finals at home, scoring 402 runs at an average of 50.25, well above his career ODI average of 39.76. Matthew Hayden is the other Australian batsman with a 50-plus average in these finals; for Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, the numbers are much closer to their career stats.

middle order of Aussies is not that weak, its really a task to fulfill. lets see, how middle order is taken care of by Indian bowlers.

[King]

The only thing is that Indian team blushes/forgets to deliver its mettle when it is needed the most. People' date=' however they say, it is the team and players who have to come up and realize about their exact duties and indulgence in the cause of nation's victory.[/quote'] Yup each player should know his role and play to the best of his ability. It works out for some with a bit of luck and it doesn't for some. To keep things simple if each player can adopt well just for the day the team will invariably do well. Winning or not winning relies on lot other variables. The opponent strength, the pitch, a terrific catch , a terrific ball or some extra ordinary batting will define the way the game will head. As long as the team works as a unit and puts in 100% there is more chance of winning rather than not. Unfortunately the players these days focus more on the hype, media and the rest rather than preparing well enough for the game.