Bowling has always been a concern: Dhoni

Colombo: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not too upset about India’s defeat to Pakistan in Monday’s warm-up match, insisting his team is on the right path for success.

Speaking after a hard training session at the Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) ground before India’s first match of the Twenty20 World Cup against Afghanistan tomorrow (September 19), Dhoni expressed his satisfaction about the build-up to the global extravaganza.

“I think we are going good. Yes, we won the game against Sri Lanka and lost the game on Monday, but overall they gave our bowlers an idea about what needs to be done. The batting order also got a good workout, as in the first game, there was a partnership between me and Rohit [Sharma] that brought us back into the game. It was good to see the way the batsmen batted in the second warm-up game. Also, at the same time, we don’t rate any side lightly, be it Afghanistan or any other side. This is a format where anyone can beat any other side in the world, so it is important to be focused, not be over-confident and get the most out of the game.”

However, Dhoni admitted that his team’s bowling attack is a concern. “Bowling has always been a bit of a concern. If you compare our batting to our bowling, we find the bowling is slightly weaker than the batting, but still we have got experienced bowlers, who can do the needful, as well as part-timers. We are looking to play with seven batsmen to start off the tournament. It means that the part-timers will have to do a really good job so that we can survive with those seven batsmen as the tournament progresses. If we still find that our bowling line-up is a bit weak, we will have to go with six batters and five bowlers,” he added.

When asked whether death bowling may blow away India’s chances, Dhoni said: Yes. It has been a bit of a concern. We have done well in death bowling also, but we have not been very consistent. As I said, it is a bit of a worry, but the fast bowlers are putting in a bit more effort to get into the groove. In this format, if you have the variation, you can go all out and still do well. I think the bowlers will shape up well. They will try different strategies and different field settings so that it can complement their style of bowling.”

Dhoni refused to be drawn on what would represent a winning total, though.

He added: “A winning total depends on the wicket, how it is behaving exactly. If the wicket is very flat and quite hard, it means we will have to score in excess of 160 or 170 runs but, at the same time if it is a normal Sri Lankan wicket, 160 can also be a very good score. For us, what is important is to not go into bat with a fixed score in mind. We will look to get off to a good start and alter the maximum score that we can achieve every five to ten overs.”

In response to a question about whether Afghanistan are an unknown quantity, Dhoni said: “I don’t think they are a very different side now from the time we last played them. We are rating them like any other side in international cricket and we are not taking them lightly.”