There is a sense of positivity within this Indian side. Their body language in practice sessions suggests so. Batsmen batting like they mean business, bowlers trying their best to get the better of their batsmen and the ones going through their fielding drills leaving no stone unturned to grab one with safe hands.
You could hear similar vibes of positivity even among the players who walked out to address the media here in Dharamsala. Speaking about the brand of cricket the team would be looking to play against South Africa, Ajinkya Rahane said, “We want to dominate South Africa and play positive cricket. We are here to win the series. We have had good practice sessions in Bengaluru and now we have a few to go in Dharamsala. We are getting used to these conditions and it is going to be very exciting.”
Suresh Raina looked to be on the same page as Rahane as he said, “South Africa might be under pressure because they would know that playing at home we are an aggressive and dangerous outfit. We have set high standards for ourselves and we are training really hard before the start of the series. We have almost had close to a week of preparations in the lead up to the first match and we are improving our individual games. We want to give it our best and win games for Team India. That is the motto right now in the dressing room and we are all excited to play against South Africa.”
Not sounding over confident, Raina was also of the view that they were up against a quality opposition and playing against them won’t be that easy. “It will be a good challenge to play against South Africa and we need to respect our opponents. They are a very good side and players from both sides have played a lot of matches together in the IPL. Both sides bank on playing calm and aggressive cricket. We have players who have always done well under pressure and I would say this series will be a challenging one. We need to concentrate on the process and keep things simple.”
Meanwhile, Rahane also threw light on the kind of batting order flexibility the current team is open to. “In this team we all believe that anyone can bat in any batting position. Everyone’s goal is to do well for the team and do well for the country. Whatever the captain and the management asks us to do, to play a certain role in the team, we are on it. For me, the team comes first and then myself. Whatever position the team management will ask me to bat at, I will bat at that position.
Raina was also of the view that the toss will play a crucial role under the conditions in Dharamsala where dew might play its part. “Toss will play a big role in this game. It gets difficult to field under lights. When we practiced yesterday the ball was wobbling in the air. We are looking to practice our fielding under lights because the ball tends to fly off the bat. When you are fielding at the boundary you do not get that extra yard to field because the ball is coming towards you at a fast pace. Toss will make a difference but at the same time if we bowl at the right areas, we will do well.”
