Two big teams and two big wins – India have successfully managed to cross the hurdle of defeating arguably two of the strongest sides in their group. They will stay put in Perth for their next two fixtures, against UAE and West Indies. First up they are up against UAE and it will be fair to say that India have an upper-hand going into this game. They have the batsmen scoring runs at the top, bowlers sticking to their line and length and yielding results and not to forget a fielding unit that looks electric.
India went full flow with their practice sessions at the WACA on Friday. The batsmen hit the nets and took turns later for fielding drills. In the absence of head coach, Duncan Fletcher, assistant coach Sanjay Bangar and the rest of the support staff kept a keen eye on the players’ preparations. Talking about the team management, Shikhar Dhawan who addressed the media here at Perth, valued the presence of team director Ravi Shastri in the dressing room. “He has a huge presence on our side,” Dhawan said. “Personally he has always given me lots of confidence and positivity when I needed it. If I am scoring runs it is because of him and the support staff who have supported me throughout.”
Dhawan also reflected on his dry run in the past and the reason for his good run of late. “I have been staying calm and working hard with a strong work ethic. I enjoy the journey rather than the destination. I did make a few minor changes in my game and it has worked for me.”
With 73 in the first game and a hundred to back it up, Dhawan is certainly India’s in-form batsman. The left-handed opener is oozing confidence quite naturally.”When you play back-to-back good innings you do gain a lot and carry the confidence going into the next game. I can say that I've gotten used to the bounce finally. I enjoy playing my shots and I will go for them whenever I get loose deliveries. I am enjoying my batting at the moment.”
Talking about their next game against UAE, Dhawan said that they won’t be taking their opponents lightly and the approach to the game would be no different to the others. “We are approaching it the same way like we approached the other games. We have had a few days to relax and the rest days have done us good. We will prepare ourselves well for the next game and continue to play the way we have so far. We are going to play with the same fighting spirit and keep the same intensity tomorrow against UAE.”
