July 31: It’s been three weeks since the Indians arrived here. Apart from a resolute double-hundred from a batsman who has seen it all and a century from a debutant who had to wait the longest to shift from colours to flannels, little else has gone right for them. The team appeared jaded in Galle. A lot of attention, rightfully, was reserved for Muttiah Muralitharan who was orchestrating the downfall of batsmen for the last time.
To motivate a side that is short of experience on the bowling front is a difficult job. Skipper M.S. Dhoni played up the role of the seniors in keeping the spirit of the side up and giving it direction. A flat track followed a heavy defeat, and the schedule appears a gruelling one.
“We have got senior players who are role models for all of us. We observe how they react to a situation. The amount of cricket we play, there will always be ups and down. You can’t be on the same level throughout the season. It’s important to have a positive mindset but accept when things go wrong. It’s a question of trying to rectify a problem and not repeat it in the next game you play,” said Dhoni.
It is not for the first time where Dhoni has stressed the role played by the seniors. But motivating players could be difficult under the present situation where the roll of the dice ahs been constantly going in the other direction.
“It is not really tough. In this series we all knew our batting would have to take the extra burden. The bowlers cannot do much in these conditions.
“At Galle we did not bat to our full potential. In this game the batting unit did well. As a captain in these conditions losing the toss is a crime. Bowlers did decently well, whatever they could bowling first up,” said Dhoni in defence of his bowlers.
The fields set were mostly semi-defensive and that was the best Dhoni could do. “We had a slip and a gully through their innings. But I feel that if you have wicket like these (SSC) it’s always better to have a semi-defensive field. The conditions were also tough and it was not easy bowlers to extend their spells,” said Dhoni.