'We've to guard against complacency' | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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'We've to guard against complacency'

PTI | By, Indore
Nov 16, 2008 08:27 PM IST

Dhoni reiterates that despite thrashing England by 158 runs in the series opener, the visiting team's bowling attack was a good one and far superior to the one that visited India two years ago.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said his team will have to guard against complacency when they take on England in the second cricket one-dayer after having thrashed the tourists by 158 runs in the series opener.

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"We are always wary of becoming complacent because if we lose then we will be criticised that we were overconfident. We are always focused on what needs to be done," the Indian skipper told reporters prior to the second match of the seven-ODI series.

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After Ishant Sharma was all but ruled out with an ankle sprain, Yuvraj Singh has also become doubtful due to a back pain but Dhoni said the left-hander, who dismantled the England bowling with his hurricane knock of 138 not out at Rajkot in the first ODI, has shown substantial progress.

"There's considerable improvement in Yuvraj's condition. But we will take a final call on him before the match," he said.

Dhoni felt the wicket prepared for the tie at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association's Stadium would not be a shirt-front like the one on which the Indian batsmen feasted on the hapless England attack.
"The wicket will not be like the one at Rajkot. There would be wear and tear as the match progresses. It's dry and it would become slow and it will be difficult to score, but all these are only predictions. The toss is important," he said.

At Rajkot, India were asked to take first strike after England captain Kevin Pietersen, and the hosts rocketed off to a great start through their in-form openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who made 85 and 51 respectively and also put on a century stand at almost six an over.

Dhoni reiterated that despite being taken to the cleaners in Rajkot by his batsmen, the visiting team's bowling attack was a good one and far superior to the one that visited the country's shores two years ago.
"They have a very good bowling attack and they are a good side. It's a much better attack than what they had when they visited two years ago. We are not taking them lightly," he said.

Talking about the new rules, under which the batting side can choose between the second and third Power Plays, Dhoni maintained it was still too early to get a clear picture on how it affects the outcome of a match.

"It's quite early to say. One has to have a few options to deal with it. Generally the batting team decides to take it soon after the change of ball (mandatory after 34 overs), between the 34th and 45th overs. It depends on what sort of starts the teams get. It's definitely made the game more interesting," he said.

India piled on a record 387 for five at Rajkot after building on the superb start given by Sehwag and Gambhir, and added 171 runs in the last 16 overs at a very impressive 10.6 an over.

Dhoni, however, said he cannot predict whether he would adopt the same strategy here.

"It all depends on the start and different teams would adopt different strategies. We cannot talk about strategies now," he said.

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