The 2007 World Twenty20 in South Africa had brought Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the forefront as a leader of men when he took his rag-tag team to the title shortly after the West Indies World Cup debacle. It was considered the prelude to an era in Indian cricket where the team would steadily start climbing the charts,with Dhoni,Yuvraj Singh,Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh playing key roles. But in the months that followed,the Indian team started to lose their Twenty20 sheen,despite the country becoming the formats nerve centre with the creation of the IPL. In the next World T20 in England this year,they made an early exit,and out of nine Twenty20 matches they have played in 2009,theyve won only three. In the first T20 in Nagpur,Sri Lanka scored a massive 215 to win by 29 runs. The Indian bowling was in tatters,the fielding abysmal and the batting unit could not keep the momentum going against a mounting asking rate. Dhoni said the team would have to adapt to the shortest version of the game if they were to square the series. I guess the fact that we were playing a T20 match after a long gap was the reason we could not adjust. The Lankans totally outplayed us in Nagpur, he said. With their T20 form starting to become a talking point despite their ascent to the No.1 ranking in Test cricket,Dhonis India are now eager that a spirited performance in Mohali will help them draw level,and put the discussion on hold at least for now. During nets on Friday,the batsmen had exceptionally long sessions,with coach Gary Kirsten spending time with Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh in particular. The bowlers got an extended run as well,and newly appointed fielding consultant Mike Young created some interesting,new drills to help the fielders relax. The conditions in Mohali are expected to be very different from what the teams encountered in Nagpur,with the temperature lower and dew becoming a factor late in the evening. Batting under floodlights in these conditions wont be easy. There is going to be something for the bowlers right through, curator Daljit Singh said. Live on Neo Cricket,5:30 pm Sreesanth hit by H1N1 MOHALI: Sreesanth tested positive for H1N1 and was admitted to Fortis Hospital in the city on Friday. He will remain in the hospital for a day or two and is recovering well,according to officials. After Sreesanths condition worsened on Thursday night,he was taken to the hospital in the morning and his throat swab was sent for H1N1 testing. The report came out positive in the evening. The other members of the Indian team will undergo medical check-ups on Saturday. ENS
