Attack Mendis to put pressure: MSD

Aug.25: Having pulled off a gamble by playing three seamers and one spinner, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be inclined to think that he had the numbers right. Usually teams go in with two specialist spinners in these sub-continental conditions but given the way the wicket behaved in the third game, Dhoni, it appears, has out-thought counterpart Mahela Jeyawardena. Follwing the victory in the third game, Dhoni said that a fifth bowler was luxury in such conditions.
The Indian skipper believes that playing an extra batsman is more advantageous as opposed to a fifth bowler as he feels a part-timer can be useful in these conditions. “Sinee these wickets are slow, the part timers can be effective. But we don’t have part-timers like Virender (Sehwag) or Sachin (Tendulkar) who can really turn the ball and stay consistent. So you have to see who’s bowling well, and continue with him,” said Dhoni. For the first time in the series and going right back to the Test matches, the Indians, it appeared, had managed to tackle their nemesis, Ajantha Mendis. Though one game doesn’t certainly make them masters, the confidence can work wonders.
‘If he (Mendis) bowls a bad ball you need to punish him. Only then will pressure build on him. If you keep defending he’ll stay on top. Till now he wasn’t under pressure so he wasn’t under pressure so he was bowing at his best,” said the India skipper.