Team that handles pressure better will clinch series: Dhoni

Neither India nor South Africa will have an edge as they clash in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) here Sunday to decide the closely-fought series.
South Africa beat India by 48 runs via Duckworth/Lewis law in a rain-washed fourth One-day International Friday to level the series 2-2. India, after being humbled in the first ODI in Durban, came back to win two cliffhangers, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
With nothing much to choose between the two teams, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rightly pointed out that the side which handles pressure better will clinch the series. 'The team that handles pressure better will win the match,' Dhoni said.
If India win, it will be their first series win in South Africa. In the absence of key batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who are nursing injuries, the victory will be special and a big morale-booster ahead of the World Cup.
Dhoni pulled up the middle order for their inconsistent performance in the series. 'The middle order has not clicked for us and I think the same goes for South Africa.'
Like on three previous occassion, Indian batting crumbled at Port Elizabeth. Chasing a total of 266, India were reeling at 137 for six in 31.3 overs when rain stopped play. At resumption, the revised target required India to make 123 runs off 87 balls. But barely eight balls were bowled when the skies opened up again and South Africa were declared the winners.
The silver lining for India in the match was Virat Kohli's unbeaten knock of 87. Dhoni complimented the flamboyant batsman who has been India's key batsman in the series. 'Virat's effort was a big positive. He is proving to be consistent and, more importantly, he is carrying the innings through.'
The Indian skipper used as much as eight bowlers to contain the Proteas' batsman but barring Yuvraj Singh none was effective. 'They were scoring at a healthy pace. And that meant if they batted for 50 overs, they will get to a good total. And that is what happened. I tried the fast bowlers, spinners, part-timers but things don't go your way always.'
The South African batting, too, has not clicked barring in the first match, and their batsmen have struggled to play the spinners in the middle overs. Jean Paul Duminy has batted well and pulled the team out of trouble.
The bowling has been the hosts' strength with pacers Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe getting good purchase of the wicket and troubling Indian batsmen. Off-spinner Johan Botha has complemented the seam attack.
'We have done well with the ball in this series. We have generally fielded well. The intensity has been good. We are excited to go to Pretoria. The teams have been trading blows for 2 months now and it has been a competitive series,' said Smith.

Team that handles pressure better will clinch series: Dhoni

Neither India nor South Africa will have an edge as they clash in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) here Sunday to decide the closely-fought series.
South Africa beat India by 48 runs via Duckworth/Lewis law in a rain-washed fourth One-day International Friday to level the series 2-2. India, after being humbled in the first ODI in Durban, came back to win two cliffhangers, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
With nothing much to choose between the two teams, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rightly pointed out that the side which handles pressure better will clinch the series. 'The team that handles pressure better will win the match,' Dhoni said.
If India win, it will be their first series win in South Africa. In the absence of key batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who are nursing injuries, the victory will be special and a big morale-booster ahead of the World Cup.
Dhoni pulled up the middle order for their inconsistent performance in the series. 'The middle order has not clicked for us and I think the same goes for South Africa.'
Like on three previous occassion, Indian batting crumbled at Port Elizabeth. Chasing a total of 266, India were reeling at 137 for six in 31.3 overs when rain stopped play. At resumption, the revised target required India to make 123 runs off 87 balls. But barely eight balls were bowled when the skies opened up again and South Africa were declared the winners.
The silver lining for India in the match was Virat Kohli's unbeaten knock of 87. Dhoni complimented the flamboyant batsman who has been India's key batsman in the series. 'Virat's effort was a big positive. He is proving to be consistent and, more importantly, he is carrying the innings through.'
The Indian skipper used as much as eight bowlers to contain the Proteas' batsman but barring Yuvraj Singh none was effective. 'They were scoring at a healthy pace. And that meant if they batted for 50 overs, they will get to a good total. And that is what happened. I tried the fast bowlers, spinners, part-timers but things don't go your way always.'
The South African batting, too, has not clicked barring in the first match, and their batsmen have struggled to play the spinners in the middle overs. Jean Paul Duminy has batted well and pulled the team out of trouble.
The bowling has been the hosts' strength with pacers Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe getting good purchase of the wicket and troubling Indian batsmen. Off-spinner Johan Botha has complemented the seam attack.
'We have done well with the ball in this series. We have generally fielded well. The intensity has been good. We are excited to go to Pretoria. The teams have been trading blows for 2 months now and it has been a competitive series,' said Smith.

Sehwag is my inspiration, says Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan, whose terrific counter-attack gave India hopes of a win from a near hopeless position in the fifth and final one-day international against South Africa at the Centurion on Sunday, has said dashing India opener Virender Sehwag is his inspiration.

Speaking to MiD DAY after arriving in Mumbai yesterday, Pathan, who scored 105 in 70 balls and hit eight boundaries and sixes each during his knock at the Centurion, said while Tendulkar has been an inspiration, his daredevil approach at the crease has come from Sehwag. "The obvious answer to that is Sachin Tendulkar, but the daredevil approach has come from Virender Sehwag," said Pathan.

Chasing a revised target of 268 in 46 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, India had collapsed to 60 for 5 when Pathan strode out to the middle at the Centurion, before soon slipping to 119 for 8. Pathan then took centre stage as he put the South African attack to the sword during his 100-run partnership with Zaheer Khan for the ninth wicket before he was dismissed. But Pathan's heroics were in vain as India lost the match by 33 runs and the series 2-3.
Pathan, who scored 166 runs at an average of 55.33 and strike rate of 134.95 in the three matches he played in the series, also told MiD DAY that he has always been inspired by Sehwag. "I was always inspired by the way Viru kept backing his own game despite people talking about the so-called shortcomings in his batting," he said.

South Africa survives Pathan scare, seal series

South Africa survived a real scare from Yusuf Pathan to finally beat India 3-2 in the five-match One-Day International series at the SuperSport Park, Centurion on Sunday.
South Africa posted 250 for nine in 46 overs as rains interrupted play. India had to chase 268 in 46 overs thanks to the Duckworth and Lewis Method in 46 overs.
India looked to have lost its way at 119 for eight and were in for a massive defeat. But Yusuf Pathan smacked eight sixes and eight boundaries to revive India's innings.
Yusuf added 100 runs for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan, as he scored a 68-ball hundred. In the end Yusuf fell with India needing 49 more runs and it was not long before South Africa completed the last rites.
Morne Morkel ended with 4 for 52, Dale Steyn (2-32) and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (2-52) were the other successful bowlers for South Africa.
Earlier, Hashim Amla smote his way to his seventh One-Day International century as South Africa scored 250 for nine in a rain-restricted innings.
Opening batsman Amla made an unbeaten 116 in an innings which was interrupted when South Africa were strongly placed at 226 for three after 42 overs.
The rain caused a delay of more than an hour and the match was reduced to 46 overs a side. South Africa lost six wickets for 24 runs in the remaining four overs of their innings, with a succession of batsmen falling to ill-judged strokes and two run-outs in a chase for quick runs.
With the series locked at two-all, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent South Africa in, hoping to take advantage of expected early morning life in the pitch - and also to have the option of revising his team's strategy in the event of predicted rain interruptions.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith fell once again to left-arm opening bowler Zaheer Khan - for the 11th time in international cricket - edging a catch to second slip in the third over.
But Amla played a calm, unflurried innings, content to play the supporting role in a second wicket stand of 97 with Morne van Wyk, who made 56 off 63 balls, then picking up the pace in an unbeaten stand fourth wicket stand of 97 with JP Duminy (31 not out).
There were only four boundaries as Amla reached fifty off 72 balls, but he added another five fours as he needed just 41 more deliveries to reach the first century by a batsman of either side in the series.
India opted to play only two seam bowlers, bringing in leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in place of Ashish Nehra.
For the second match in a row, Dhoni used eight bowlers, mainly in short spells.
As in the fourth match in Port Elizabeth, left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh was the most effective of the slow bowlers, taking two for 45 in eight overs - the longest unbroken spell by any of the players. But when Yuvraj conceded nine runs off his eighth over Dhoni immediately took him out of the attack.
Amla and Duminy were starting to dominate the bowling and were picking up the scoring rate going into the closing overs of the innings when the rain started to fall during the first over of the powerplay, halting play before the next over began.
Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel took advantage of rash South African stroke play as they caused a collapse after the rain delay.

Batting has let us down: Dhoni

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni  attributed the ODI series loss against South Africa to the batting failure but refused to believe that it will be a cause of worry for his side with the World Cup less than a month away.
"I think our batting department did not do well in the ODIs. That was the main reason why we lost the ODI series. But, hopefully with the World Cup coming up all will be set right," he said at the post-match conference after India lost the fifth and final ODI by 33 runs and the series 2-3.
"Throughout the series our batting department has not scored a lot of runs. It is Virat Kohli who has done well and it's Yusuf down the order who has done well. We really need to perform as a unit. But it is a matter of one innings or two and some of the batsmen did not get enough preparation time, quality practice sessions. It always plays in your mind but at the end of the day experienced players have gone through a phase like this. It happens in cricket and specially with us as we play 30-35 ODIs a year. So you see the form going up and down in the year. We are used to deal with situations like this," Dhoni said.
Indian top order collapsed while playing rash shots but Dhoni defended his batsmen, saying it was part and parcel of the game. "It is part and parcel of cricket. You get off to a start, 10 overs, 28 runs one wicket then you are asked why was there no hurry? At the end of the day we were suppose to chase close to six runs an over and it is always a difficult task. You want to take the opposition on and times you lose wickets and that is what happened in this game," he said.
"At times it really works because if you see Yusuf's innings, he played a few deliveries and then went after the bowlers. He was really successful that's his main strength. In a similar way some of the batsmen played their strokes and got out," he reasoned.
Talking about the positives from the series, Dhoni said, "The full tour was good for both the sides. They won the ODI series, we won the T20 and the Test matches were draw. But overall good cricket was played. The biggest positive out of this game - when we go to the World Cup - the last 10 overs we can chase anything if we have got wickets in hand. I think learning is more than just loss of the game," said Dhoni.

Dhoni to lead India in 2011 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced India's dream team for the 2011 World Cup, which would be led by wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The national cricket selection committee led by its chairman K Srikanth, which picked India's final 15-member squad for the ICC cricket World Cup, has named opening batsman Virender Sehwag as Dhoni's deputy.
The others selected in the squad are Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Virat Kohli, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, R. Ashwin and Piyush Chawla.
"We have the confidence the team will win the world cup and do the nation proud. Injuries are not a worry for us. We have selected the best probable squad," Srikanth told reporters after announcing the squad.
Mumbai's middle order batsman Rohit Sharma and pacers Ishant Sharma and S. Sreesanth have not made it to the squad, which comprises, seven batsmen, four pacers and three spinners. (ANI)

Tendulkar ruled out of ODIs with hamstring injury

India's Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the last three one-day internationals against South Africa due to a hamstring injury, the Indian cricket board said on Sunday.
Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, who has opened for India in ODIs in the past, will fly to South Africa as Tendulkar's replacement