The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : ‘Momentum can shift quickly’

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Saturday, Sep 08, 2007
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‘Momentum can shift quickly’

Special Correspondent

London: Rahul Dravid said the Indian team was looking forward to playing decisive ODI at The Lord’s. “We have come back really well. Now we are at Lord’s and it is a big occasion.”

The Indian captain also spoke about the “fickle nature of the one-day games where the momentum can shift very quickly.”

Dravid elaborated on the point. “In the last game it shifted after five sixes in the last over. Then, we had a century partnership and it changed again. It can shift even as the innings progresses.”

He reflected on the closeness of the series. “Matches have been won and lost on a few edges. The games have been very tight. This is why even when we were 3-1 down, I said that we could fight back. There has not been much difference between the sides.”

He expected the game to be a high-scoring affair. “The boundaries are short, the outfield is quick, and you have the slope. The ball will travel quickly.”

The skipper said the team-management would decide on the side’s composition only after having a good look at the pitch. “We really do not know how the surface will play.”

On Sachin Tendulkar continuing in ODI cricket, Dravid said, “It is entirely his decision, whether he is enjoying his game. He has been in great form this summer.”

Owais Shah, who notched up an entertaining century for England at The Oval, said a more regular place in the England side had helped. “Previously, it was one game here, one game there.”

On the seventh ODI here, he said, “England needs to play Saturday’s match with the intensity of a World Cup final.” Mental strength, he said held the key.

England, he said, would have a plan to break the Tendulkar-Ganguly pairing sooner than later.

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