Dhoni aims for a 7-0 whitewash against England

India's skipper MS Dhoni is aiming at a 7-0 whitewash in the ODI series against England, despite having clinched the series by taking an unassailable 4-0 lead after Bangalore ODI win.

India's skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is aiming at a 7-0 whitewash in the ODI series against England, despite having clinched the series by taking an unassailable 4-0 lead after winning a thriller in Bangalore.

HT Image

The Indian team for the fifth match in Cuttack is likely to undergo changes in order to rest some senior players, who have played a lot of cricket in recent months.

"You will see a few changes in the side in the next three matches. Some of the people who have not played in the series so far will play but we still look to win games," Dhoni said after leading his team to a 19-run win via Duckworth-Lewis method.

"Three more matches to come and we want to win those games," he said.

With the match reduced to 22-overs-a-side following two rain-interruptions, Indian bowlers survived some anxious moments before taming the opponents and Dhoni said the task was not easy.

"Because of the wet outfield, the ball became soggy and it was not easy to grip the ball. We have one specialist spinner (Harbhajan Singh) and part-time spinners. It was really difficult for them to grip the ball.

"But then Zaheer (Khan) bowled very well, along with Ishant (Sharma) and Munaf (Patel). Overall it was a very good team effort," Dhoni said.

Asked how he was marshalling his bowlers in such tense situation, Dhoni said, "I was not giving much advice. First I like them to bowl to their own plans and if that does not work I ask them to bowl according to my plans.