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Rediff.com  » Sports » No plan to bat at No. 3 throughout: Dhoni

No plan to bat at No. 3 throughout: Dhoni

Source: PTI
June 11, 2009 11:24 IST
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India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday made it clear that he has no plans to bat at the number three slot throughout the Twenty20 World Cup and claimed it was a part of the team's experiment with the batting order.

Even though an in-form Suresh Raina seems the more logical choice for the slot, Dhoni has been coming at one down in the Twenty20 World Cup but with little success.

After India's eight-wicket triumph over Ireland, the Indian captain was asked if he plans to continue occupying the slot for the remainder of the tournament to which Dhoni replied, "Not really."

Dhoni said the team was experimenting with the batting order and hence he was coming at number three.

"We are trying a few things. I think we have to see what combination we are playing with and decide depending on that," he said.

Dhoni, meanwhile, was relieved with Zaheer Khan's sterling performance against Ireland as the left-arm seamer grabbed four wickets, besides the Man of the Match award.

"It's really good that he is back in form," Dhoni said of Zaheer who was nursing a shoulder injury till the other day.

"We knew he would take one more game to get back to groove and that's what we saw today. He was back in the groove, swinging the ball and hitting the right areas," Dhoni said.

"It's good to have bowlers like him, especially when he has been planning for other bowlers also. He is a good asset to have," Dhoni added.

On Wednesday night's match against Ireland, Dhoni said he was happy with the bowlers' performance but felt fielding was not up to the mark.

"Our bowlers did really well with the new ball and the spinners did their job too. I'm happy with our bowling. But on the field, we didn't perform our best. We can definitely be better in the field. It's like 80-90 percent efficiency. I'm getting demanding but I know we can do it," Dhoni said. 

The defending champions hardly broke a sweat as they cruised into the Super Eight stage but Dhoni warned from here on they cannot to take any match lightly. 

"It's good to be in Super Eight. From now, each and every game would be difficult," he said.

Despite the heavy defeat, Ireland captain William Porterfield took it in strides and said his team fought well against a fancied side. 

"The wicket did a bit early on. They bowled well early on and we nicked a couple but we batted better later on," he said.

"We fought really well. Losing Nial (O'Brien) and (Trent) Johnston wasn't easy but we are not going to make any complaints," he added.

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