November 08, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 26, 1428

MOHALI (India), Nov 7: After gaining psychological advantage by winning the first One-day International, India go into the second encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan here on Thursday, seeking to keep momentum going with another convincing performance.

The triumph in the opening ODI in Guwahati on Monday will no doubt serve as morale booster for hosts but they can hardly afford to be complacent against the unpredictable Pakistanis in what promises to be thrilling floodlit contest at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

The visitors, with fine blend of youth and experienced players, are fully capable to turn table on hosts but need to get their acts together quickly. If India manage to win and take 2-0 lead in five match series, Pakistan will find themselves under tremendous pressure in remaining the three one-dayers.

India will have to take dew factor into account when they finalise team composition for the day/night game as spinners may find it hard to grip ball in second session.

Pakistan need some improvement in fielding. The conditions in Mohali will definitely suit the Pakistanis as track will have something for batsmen and bowlers. Fiery Shoaib Akhtar, who could not make much of impact in Guwahati, will be more potent force as there could be some movement for bowlers in first 15 overs or so.

“It is a typical Mohali wicket. There will be bounce, pace and bowlers have something for them in first 15 overs or so. If batsmen play that period carefully, it would be a good batting track thereafter,” curator Daljit Singh said.

A full house is expected with all tickets sold out for high-voltage match to be played amid tight security arrangements.

Meanwhile, a distracted India will try to keep their focus on the game, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said on Wednesday.

Selection matters are likely to weigh on the minds of the Indian players as the debate over who should be handed the Test captaincy gathered heat after former skipper Sachin Tendulkar refused the top job on Tuesday.

Indian selectors were to announce the new skipper as well as the team for the last three matches of the current series on the sidelines of the day/night game on Thursday.

“There is nothing to worry (about) as far as players are concerned, selectors have a job to do and we will try our best to maintain our winning momentum,” Harbhajan told reporters.

Harbhajan refused to be drawn into the debate over whether the reins of the Test team should be handed to a youngster, a suggestion put forward by Tendulkar himself to the Indian cricket board.

“It does not matter who the captain is because whosoever is given the job his motive will be the same – to win matches,” Harbhajan, 27, said.

“Instead of losing sleep over the captaincy issue, we should take pride in the fact that we are part of the Indian team. We will try our best to keep our focus on the game.”

The Pakistani camp appeared bemused by the entire issue and was hoping to exploit the situation to its advantage.

“There was not much separating the two teams in Guwahati. We hope to make up for that difference with an improved show tomorrow,” Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson said.

“It is always a little extra special when India and Pakistan play. We are lucky to have such a rivalry in sports,” the Aussie said.

Lawson said it was good for the game that youngsters had been given charge of the one-day teams in both India and Pakistan.

“Both India and Pakistan have young captains at the helm in the one-dayers which is terrific for the game.

“Shoaib Malik is very sharp, he uses his players well. He has been captain in two Tests and seven one-dayers, he is a young guy and has a long way to go. Mahendra Dhoni will also grow to be a good captain.”

Teams (from):

INDIA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik.

PAKISTAN: Shoaib Malik (captain), Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Abdul Rehman, Rao Iftikhar.

Umpires: Suresh Shastri (India) and Ian Gould (England).

TV umpire: Amish Saheba (India).

Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (India).—Agencies