Guwahati, November 7
The disappointment of the three-run loss in Hyderabad behind them, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said his team is focussed on making a fresh start in the must-win sixth cricket one-dayer against Australia here tomorrow.

“It was hurting and disappointing. But we have left everything in the dressing room. We have two more games to go and that’s what counts now. Whatever has happened has happened. You cannot change much about it. It’s important to concentrate on what lies ahead and stay fresh mentally,” Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference.

India trail the seven-match series 2-3 after the loss in Hyderabad. Asked about the team’s strategy, Dhoni said the hosts would rely on a good batting effort and an improved fielding display.

“Strategy is to get off a good start and then capitalise on it and dictate terms on the opposition side. We have done well in patches. It’s important to be consistent especially when it comes to fielding. So we are hoping to field well,” he said.

On whether the middle-order’s inconsistent form is a concern, Dhoni said though the performance has not been too good, he is not worried. “We rely on a good start but every now and then your openers don’t score and the pressure comes to the middle order. This is one of the series, where the middle order has not performed consistently,” he said.

“It’s not a worrying thing. But of course it’s good if we get a good start so that the middle order and lower order capitalise on that,” Dhoni added. Reflecting on the defeat in Hyderabad, Dhoni said the team could have calculated a bit better and settled the issue.

“We had about five overs of Power-play left with four-five wickets in hand. More often, in such a case, the team batting second wins. I think we lost there. We are learning on that. Hopefully we will not repeat the same mistake,” he said.

Dhoni, however, refuted suggestions that the team would be under pressure tomorrow. “Every game was a pressure game in the series and the remaining two games also. Our first priority is to be in the series, so we have to win the next game and not looking too far ahead,” he said.

The captain cleared the air of doubt over Virender Sehwag missing the practice today, saying the dashing opener did not turn up as it was an optional session.

“Today was a lighter session. We wanted to give the guys some rest so we had a longish warm-up session. The lower order batted, there is no particular reason behind Harbhajan or Ravindra Jadeja batting at the nets today,” he explained.

On under-pressure Ravindra Jadeja, who has run himself out twice in the series so far, Dhoni said he would continue to back the all-rounder. “He is doing well but when it comes to selection, we don’t speak too much about it. But every individual, if he is doing well he deserves a chance to be in the side. Jadeja is bowling well, as series goes he will turn up more as a batsman,” Dhoni said.

Dhoni said the senior players in the side are helping the new players cope with the pressure of competing in the high-voltage series. “The senior players are constantly in touch with the youngsters especially the lower batsmen how they should be reacting to situation like this. It’s not that in each and every game you get a situation like in Hyderabad,” he said.

On the wicket, Dhoni said it looked like a typical sub-continental wicket and dew would be a huge factor. “But with super sopers and other equipment I don’t think there will be much dew on the field.” — PTI 

New Delhi, November 7
Prabhash Joshi was a bilingual journalist who could write on cricket with equal felicity in English and Hindi. His knowledge of the game was so deep and thorough that many well-known coaches and players sought him, to sort out their dilemmas.

Dronacharya Award-winning coach Desh Prem Azad said he owed a lot to Joshi for giving extensive coverage to promising players of his Sports Authority of India coaching centre at Chandigarh, who later went on conquer many cricketing milestones.

Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra and Yograj Singh were some of Azad’s trainees whose fledgling career was given a big boost when Prabhash Joshi was the resident editor of the Indian Express in Chandigarh.

“We have lost a great pioneer of Indian cricket”, Azad said. “He popularised cricket by writing about young, promising players”, reminisced Azad. Azad said the late editor was so fond of Kapil Dev that the player’s birth day on January 6, 1979 was celebrated in the Express office.

The veteran coach said Joshi was a regular visitor to his coaching centre in Chandigarh, but would not interfere in his coaching methods, or plead his son Sandeep Joshi's case, who was also Azad’s trainee.

“He used to call me ‘sir’, and visited my coaching centre, along with his wife, daughter and younger son. He would quietly watch the young boys being put through the paces”, Azad said.

“He would tell me that the day his son (Sandeep Joshi) takes five wickets in a match, he would deem that he had passed his matriculation exam; and when he scores a century he would feel that Sandeep had completed his graduation”, Azad recollected. The coach also recalled an incident when Joshi took Azad and Kapil on a rickshaw ride in Chandigarh.

Another veteran coach and Dronacharya awardee Gurcharan Singh, who was also close to Joshi, said the late editor never recommended the case of his son Sandeep when he was a trainee at the SAI Centre at the National Stadium in New Delhi. Gurcharan also said though Joshi was a powerful editor, he he never utilised his connections to gain a personal favour, which was evident from the fact that Sandeep repays the loan, which Joshi took to buy his flat in the Jansatta Apartments.

Gurcharan said he used to meet Joshi at least once in 15 days, and they mostly talked cricket. But he never talked big, was humble and simple, but strict. “Joshi saab used to talk about Indian cricket, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar. Though Sachin used to grip the bat virtually at the bottom of the handle in his formative years, which was a technical flaw he later corrected, Joshiji’s admiration for Sachin was great”, Gurcharan recalled.

Gurcharan said it was the Hindi daily Jansatta, edited by Joshi, which coined the catch line ‘sab ko khabar de; sab ki khabar le’.

Joshi had sat beside this correspondent to watch the fourth ODI between India and Australia at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on October 31. When young reporters poured out their cricket wisdom loud and clear from behind, the veteran journalist sat in the low front row seat, glued to the action in the middle, with a benign smile playing on his serene face. Such was his love for the game, even at a ripe age; and his tolerance of the ignorance of the neo cricket writers was a lesson in humility.