India hope to finish the job

In the second one-dayer at the Capt Roop Singh Stadium,its likely that Amla will get a chance to present his case,while a rejigged middle-order could see the inclusion of both JP Duminy and Roelof van de Merwe.

While South Africa are looking to experiment as much as they can in these three games its likely that the entire squad wouldve played by the time the team leaves India have set their sights solely on the number two slot,and will hope to finish the job off here.

The only change they might have made wouldve been resting Virender Sehwag,who picked up an injury in the first ODI,but the opener South Africas chief tormentor with centuries in both Tests and a 46 in Jaipur seems to have recovered from his back spasms. He had a stint in the nets on Tuesday,and also took slip catches without a trace of discomfort. However,Dhoni said a decision on his participation would be taken on the morning of the match

An unchanged combination will mean MS Dhonis side will bat deep once again on a pitch thats expected to be a belter,but the death bowling remains a concern.

Praveen Kumar,Jaipurs hero in the final over aimed for the blockhole outside off-stump at a side net,even as Sachin Tendulkar gave him a few pointers,batting with a wide third-man and a fielder at gully. Sreesanth joined him in the attempt to get the yorkers going,with bowling coach Eric Simmons watching from behind the stumps.

Inconsistent weather

The pitch was covered through most of Tuesday,both for the overnight rains and,later,to keep out the baking sunlight. With inconsistent weather around,this might actually be a good toss to lose. If second ODI is washed off,India will retain their No 2 ODI ranking. The cricket-starved population here,however,wants India to take the harder route to success.

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Last 10 overs crucial: Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said India would try to ensure no unnecessary runs were given away in the last ten overs when fielding against the South Africans. We capitalise in the last ten overs and that can put pressure on them, said Dhoni. If you give 80-100 runs in the last ten overs,it becomes too much,but 60-70 runs is quite good. Bowlers have to keep experimenting as the yorker is not the only option. You have to bowl the slower one once according to the field set. But at the end of the day,you have to see how the wicket is,who the batsman is and what strategy hes adopting.

Dhoni added that it was easy to work with coach Gary Kirsten as he kept an open mind when dealing with strategies adopted by the team. He came in with an open mind. He learnt what Indian cricket is all about,what the culture is,and how individuals work in the side. Accordingly he made strategies,making sure it would work for all of us, he said. ENS