India have to beat Sri Lanka by 20 runs and more

Published>Mon, May 10 10 07:57 PM

Gros Islet (St.Lucia), May 10 (IANS) To stay in the hunt in the World T20 here, India will not only have to beat last year's finalists Sri Lanka by 20 runs in their last Group F match of the Super Eights but also hope that the West Indies lose to Australia.

India's chances were virtually over after their loss against the West Indies, but Sri Lanka's 81-run loss against Australia, later in the day, has again brightened the hopes of the 2007 champions.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels his boys can still bounce back but dismissed suggestions that a lengthy Indian Premier League (IPL) may have contributed to his side's poor performance in the World Twenty20.

'(People) can always come back and say we have played too much cricket in the IPL, but (we) have to do well in tournaments like these,' said Dhoni.

'The IPL is very different from international format. You have four foreigners. You don't have always the best bowling attack. You have to keep your side balanced. Most of the IPL sides have one bowler who bowls really good, really quick, but apart from that you try to target the weak links, that's what happens in IPL.'

'But in international cricket, most of the sides have got at least three bowlers. You can maybe target one or at the most two (bowlers). I think the IPL is very different, so it would be unfair to compare IPL to international cricket. We are on the losing side and that's the fact right now,' Dhoni said.

Dhoni admitted that his team was found wanting against short-pitched bowling against the West Indies.

'We have prepared well. We knew they would use short-pitched deliveries, and we practised against short-pitched deliveries in the net sessions. But until you don't face it in a game you are not match-aware of what is needed in that situation.'

Dhoni admitted that against Sri Lanka it would be tough as progress to the semis depended on too many other factors.

'It's a little bit too much to ask. You need to do well in a tournament like this, and we still have one more game. We would like to do well (in St. Lucia) against a team that looks in good form, and leave the equation to itself, look to do well, whatever is the equation.'

'We can't do much about it. What we can do is win that game, and that can be our consolation prize more than anything else,' he said.

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