BANGALORE: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hailed Irish master-blaster Kevin O’Brien as “unbelievable”, but hopes there’s no repeat of his pyrotechnics when the two sides clash on Sunday.
O’Brien smashed the fastest World Cup century off 50 balls, and went on to make 113 off just 63 deliveries, in a remarkable exhibition of power-hitting as Ireland stunned England on Wednesday for an historic victory.
When asked whether his team had made plans to stop the Irishman in Sunday’s Group B match, Dhoni said: “As far as strategies are concerned, every day is different and accordingly you have to plan based on how a batsman is playing.
“It was an unbelievable innings. We really enjoyed O’Brien’s innings. As it was not against us we can always be a spectator and enjoy each and every hit. It was really impressive to see him change gears at the end.”
Dhoni addded that India will bank on their batting strength to counter Ireland’s threat.
“What is good for the side is everybody is scoring runs and it’s more about a battle for the slots. We are still more inclined to play with seven batsmen as you should always back your strength,” the Indian skipper said Saturday.
India’s batting clicked in their previous two matches as they scored a massive 370-4 against Bangladesh and 338 against England, with Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar all scoring centuries.
The hosts need to make sure they put enough runs on the board again to give their under-fire bowlers a chance to defend the total, especially after Ireland’s amazing run-chase on the same pitch.
The Indian skipper said no team could afford to take Ireland lightly after their superb show against a strong England side.
“There is no weak side in the World Cup. We have memories of getting beaten by Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup and we won’t make that mistake again,” Dhoni said, referring to India’s first-round exit in the Caribbean.
“It depends on each particular day and there are individuals in every team who can score at an amazing strike-rate of may be 150 or 200 and that can change the course of the game.
“The preparation level remains the same and the intensity should remain the same.”
The pitch heavily favoured batsmen in the last two matches here — India v England and Ireland v England — and Dhoni said batsmen would likely to have a field day again.
“It is difficult to say whether it will turn or not. But the last couple of games here have been high-scoring ones as close to 1,400 runs were scored and it says what kind of a wicket it is,” said the Indian captain.
“Probably it won’t change much and it could still be a high-scoring game. It is amazing to see the way the runs have been chased here. I think Bangalore is one place where batsmen have the upper hand and I feel it will be the same.”
Dhoni said India had yet to decide whether to go into the match with three pacemen and one specialist spinner or two seamers and as many spinners.
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