India can create history

Even though the Indian think tank is worried about top order failure, still
hope springs eternal in the human breast. M Vijay may be replaced by Parthiv
Patel, who can score runs, even though he is a wicket keeper.

Both teams are struggling, India with top order failure and S A with lack of
all rounders. The absence of world class all rounder J Kallis has affected
the team considerably. SA batting has been good, with Smith, Amla, du
Plassis, Bram de Villiers and Duminy doing fairly well with the bat. They
are enthused by Duminy's brilliant form.

Indian are enthused by Yuvraj's return to form. The lack of form of M Vijay
and R Sharma still worries India. India has taken a 2-1 lead, mainly due to
their inform pacer, M Patel and all rounders Pathan and Harbhajan.

Dhoni said he is not worried by the top order failure He says the absence of
big stars is a blessing in disguise for the younger players.

"I think both the teams are suffering from it. I am not really worried about
it, but what is important is we had two close games. If you see, in the last
one year we have missed quite a few big players, especially in the batting
department. The bowlers too had injuries and some were rested. So I think
the team has become used to it," said India's captain.

"But of course it's good for youngsters because the conditions here are
tough and if they play more matches under these conditions, they will learn
more. It's not that demanding on flat tracks, you learn to read the game
well here. You have a score of 300-325 in mind in the sub-continent and all
of a sudden you find that 190 can be defended.

"It's a different aspect over here. You get lots of experience by playing
such matches," He said that the top order has to fire in the fourth ODI at
St George's Park on Friday, if India is to create history.

On the eve of the fourth ODI, he said "Our batting department, which we
always say is our big strength, needs to click together as a unit,"

"Of course the lower order has done really well, but at the end of the day
it is the batsmen who will have to take the pressure. Hopefully, we will
perform according to our potential tomorrow," he said.

About the general mood in the team, the Indian skipper said, "Mood is the
same. When we lost the first game we felt it was very important to have a
positive state of mind. We will try to be in the same state of mind.
Mentally we cannot fluctuate too much."

"I think we always concentrate on the process. We don't really see what the
scorecard is saying or what the series analysis is. For us it's another
game," he added.

He said barring ZAK, some pacers may be rested.

"We need him. Zaheer hasn't played too many ODIs in the last one year,
so it is important for him to get back into the groove before the World Cup.
In the sub-continent it will be demanding for the fast bowlers because it is
the early part of the year.

"I think match practice will definitely help. If needed we can rest him in
the two warm-up games that we have in India," he said.

Praising Bajji's all round efforts, he said "Of course Bajji has done
really well. He is bowling as well as you have seen him throughout his
career. So that's a big plus for us. We are regularly using him in the
powerplays," said the Indian wicket keeping and batting sensation. " We
never bother about the fate of a match, but rather play our natural game ".

"We are not thinking about the result, it's the process that is important
for us. We know if you take care of the process, the results take care of
themselves. For us it is important to play good cricket," he averred.

On the other hand, Graeme Smith, the SA captain, is hopeful that his team can
win both remaining ODIs, as the SA team is freed from the pressure of WC
selection. He said that with luck, the series could have been 3-0 in favour
of SA. The margins have been small in the last two encounters and it was
nerves which lost SA both matches. SA let India off the hook in the last
two. Our powerplay was poor and we hope to improve on this aspect.