Team Director confident of World Cup triumph after Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan guides India to 8-wkt victory over Ireland in theier Pool B clash yesterday
Shikhar Dhawan
Hamilton: Pumped up by a remarkable unbeaten streak, the India’s Team Director Ravi Shastri yesterday said the defending champions are well on course to lift the World Cup for a second successive time.
Shikhar Dhawan celebrates his second World Cup ton yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
India thrashed Ireland by eight wickets to record their ninth consecutive win in the World Cup overall and fifth on the trot in the current edition to top pool ‘B’.
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Talking about India’s campaign, Shastri said the side, which came into the tournament after a disastrous bilateral series against Australia, is quite confident of clinching the top honours. “We were never here to fill in the numbers. We are not going to give any chances to any of our opponents and we are going to lift the trophy,” Shastri said.
Yesterday marked 30 years for India’s 1985 World Championship of Cricket triumph. They beat Pakistan in the final and Shastri was named Champion of Champions before being presented an Audi car at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Back to the on-going tournament. “It’s a good position to be in especially given that from now on, every game is a knockout. Once you start winning, you enjoy and feel relaxed, it’s when you lose that you want to stay locked in the dressing room. Right now, the team is enjoying, they are playing football, they are a happy unit,” Shastri told Star Sports after Shikhar Dhawan’s second hundred in the tournament guided India to an eight-wicket win.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar echoed Shastri’s views and credited the team’s bowlers for raising their game at the big platform. “The bowlers deserve all the credit. Fifty wickets in five matches…is a wonderful achievement. A lot of times the batsmen tend to overshadow them and they don’t get credit but it is nice to see the bowlers getting some credit,” he said.
333
The number of runs Shikhar Dhawan has scored in five matches of this World Cup. He averages 66.60
It's a coincidence!
March 10, 1985: India win their fifth game on the trot in the World Championship of Cricket.
March 10, 2015: India win their fifth game on the trot in the World Cup.
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