India aim for Colombo sweep

Dhoni & Co believe horizontal bat shots will be the key on the slow,low Premadasa pitch

Down on one knee,Gautam Gambhir asked Gary Kirsten,replaying a deft paddle-sweep,Should I bring my bat down like this?

Yeah,thats perfect, acknowledged the Indian coach. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni,watching from the side of the nets,had a slightly different perspective. And thus the three converged for a small debate on the elevation of the bat and to discuss the variants of the sweep shot.

Team India have left their straight bats at Dambulla,and are ready to improvise,using horizontal bat shots on Saturday at the R Premadasa Stadium,the home of slow turn where where the ball doesnt come on to the bat. The middle overs can inflict serious damage on a teams total there.

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Virender Sehwag,who has recovered completely from the glute injury and will open the innings in the second ODI,will have to make the most of the new ball and the power plays. Watching Sehwag bat at the nets is always entertaining he talks aloud after each delivery,praising himself for every good shot,kicking himself for playing a poor shot.

I will get my runs,you just try and bowl some dot balls to me, he says,before arguing about the imaginary fielders position against Kirstens throw downs.

Exploring styles

In there training sessions,Team India are expecting the field placing to be unorthodox,and are exploring ways to collect the runs with the softer ball. And so while Sehwag,Raina and Rohit Sharma were practising their sweeps and reverse sweeps,Sachin Tendulkar was attempting the scoop shot.

Tendulkars scoop is a lot like the shot Australian David Warners plays,and a more refined version of Zimbabwean Douglus Marilliers patent swipe over the wicketkeepers head. You work so hard,and get only one run, Tendulkar joked with Yusuf Pathan after playing the shot.

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Runs are expected to be hard to come by in Colombo. With the humidity and dew a factor in the day-night encounter,the toss will be vital with batting first the easily preferred option. With Sehwag back in the fray,skipper Dhoni has chosen to leave out Rohit Sharma from the XI.

Sri Lanka,on the other side,are busy tackling their own problems. The hosts are desperately seeking a combined effort from the middle-order,hoping to ease the pressure on the opening duo of Dilshan and Jayasuriya.

Muttiah Muralitharan,sitting on the edge of a world record,and Ajantha Mendis,looking to re-establish his supremacy,will share the responsibility to pin the Indian team down in the middle overs. Tomorrows match might well be a grind for the players,both physically and mentally,and hopefully the contest will be worth all the effort.