Dhoni confident Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh will shine in World Cup
After notching up a resounding win over the beleaguered New Zealand team in a warm-up match before the start of the ICC World Cup 2011, Indian captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 has reposed confidence in two of his attacking batsmen who have secured vital spots
in team plans.
Upcoming star Virat Kohli has been one of the brightest performers in One Day Internationals
(ODIs) in the last 12 months. He hit peak form in the two limited-overs duels with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 scoring hundreds when it mattered most to book a place in the World Cup team.
He was again in good touch in the game against the Kiwis, scoring a fine 50 after the hosts had lost two early wickets, his main rival for the final batting spot in the playing eleven, Suresh Raina, then blazed away 3 sixes and 4 fours to propel the team
score to a mammoth 360.
Raina, however, is set to miss out on the opening game at least after Dhoni revealed that Kohli was the most likely to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and himself in what is easily the most formidable
batting line-up in the 14-nation tournament.
“Right now it is a matter of deciding slots; it’s the number four slot where http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virat-Kohli-c95424 needs to bat with Gautam [Gambhir] at number three, because to perform to his potential, Virat needs to bat up the order," Dhoni said in Chennai. He added that Raina
had done well for the team, batting at numbers five and six. But there’s chance that Kohli may get an edge over Raina due to his current form, Dhoni said.
Dhoni also said he was depending greatly on the performance of the swashbuckling http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364 who is expected to play a key role with both bat and ball in the tournament. The Punjab southpaw is one of the star attractions of the tournament and has the ability
to change the course of a match with a brutal assault that is filled with stunning stroke play. “Once Yuvraj gets going in a series, he makes it a point that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 wins that series; that’s definitely a big positive,” Dhoni said. The Indian captain also commented
on his bowling prowess: “Also being a proper left-arm spinner, he has been contributing in all the games right from South Africa, taking the ball away from the batsmen. It’s another big asset that he has got which gives him an edge over the others.”
The Indians have, without doubt, the most formidable batting line-up in the event, and with the tournament being held on their own grounds, they are expected to be very difficult opposition for the other teams. There are real chances of them piling on massive
totals like the 360 they smashed at Chennai yesterday.
Dhoni has said time and again that he is not going to take any opposition lightly and take his team through to the knockout stage with as much conviction as possible. Given the batting strength, the statement looks a real possibility.
The Indians are expected to cruise through to the knockout stage; they are also being tipped to top their pool that also includes two other title contenders in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. If the hosts top their pool they will play the fourth qualifier from
Group A at Ahmadabad, again in their own country. Even if they do not top their pool they are set to play the quarter-final at the same venue given the new ICC rules for host countries.
Tags: