Cricket: India face Australia in a must-win situation

Dhoni, Pathan shrug off reports of rifts in the side.

SYDNEY:

India must beat Australia in today’s One-Day International to retain any hope of reaching the tri-series finals, and they must do it while denying claims of changing room unrest.

The World Cup champions are four points adrift of second-placed Australia  after back-to-back losses to Sri Lanka and the hosts.

India’s big showdown comes after Indian media reported differences between captain MS Dhoni and seniors Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and the continuing slump in form of Sachin Tendulkar. Dhoni, who was suspended from India’s 51-run loss to Sri Lanka last Tuesday denied there was any rift within the team over the rotation policy of the opening batting positions.

All-rounder Irfan Pathan also downplayed talk of differences in the team.

“Everyone is working hard,” he said. “There’s no difference of opinion in the team. I’ve been hearing things, but it’s nothing like that. Things are pretty good. It’s just a matter of winning big games. Once we start winning the big games, these things are going to vanish.”

Today’s game could also feature the international return of Shane Watson after his lengthy injury spell, with out-of-form opener David Warner under pressure to hold down his spot. Forrest, who scored the only century in the tournament, said the challenge of keeping a spot with Watson waiting in the wings was one the whole batting order needed to rise to.

“It puts all the batsmen on notice to make sure they’re scoring runs,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2012.