Indians bank on fresh legs

Skipper Dhoni says his players are optimistic in the ODI series

DAMBULLA: India open a five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka here on Monday hoping to erase unhappy memories of their last encounter. Sri Lanka dashed India’s hopes of winning a major title in the sub-continent in their previous one-day international, winning the Asia Cup final by a comfortable 100-run margin in Karachi last month.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his young side needed to be positive against the hosts, especially spin sensation Ajantha Mendis who has been looking virtually unplayable in recent matches.

Mendis did not allow even Indian veterans Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Venkatsai Laxman to settle in, claiming 26 wickets in his team’s 2-1 win over the tourists in a recent Test series.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni, who had opted out of the Test series due to fatigue, was confident his side would rise to the occasion. “It’s an energetic side with youngsters,” said Dhoni.

“Sri Lanka is one of the toughest places to play cricket as you don’t get a lot of runs on slow, low wickets. You have to always stay positive.”
Dhoni is one of the seven players to join the squad for the one-dayers, the others being batsmen Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli and S Badrinath, all-rounder Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar.

India were undone by an unorthodox Sri Lankan pair in Karachi, with aggressive opener Sanath Jayasuriya hammering a brisk century under pressure and Mendis grabbing six wickets for 13 runs. Dhoni’s side appeared to have gained a big advantage when they reduced Sri Lanka to 66-4, but Jayasuriya smashed 125 off 114 balls with five sixes in a superb exhibition of clean hitting.