Champions Trophy: Dhoni wary of Chris Gayle threat

LONDON // Dwayne Bravo, the captain, is confident of containing India's batting firepower when the two sides meet in the Champions Trophy at The Oval today. The winner is almost certain to take one of the two semi-final berths from Group B after both teams won their opening games, albeit in contrasting fashion the reigning World Cup champions, brushed aside injury-hit South Africa by 26 runs in Cardiff after an impressive batting display saw them post a commanding 331 for seven. The West Indies shot out for 170 at The Oval on Friday, then showed their vulnerability while batting, as they lost eight wickets while chasing the modest target. All-rounder Bravo, who replaced Darren Sammy as one-day captain ahead of the tournament, said the close result did not worry him as his side prepared to face the in-form Indians, who are led by MS Dhoni, Bravo's captain in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament. "We came out on top and that's more important," Bravo said. "It does not matter if you lose eight or nine wickets, we got the two points that we wanted." "The West Indies normally do not start well in tournaments like this, so it was important that we get our first win out of the way and look forward to the rest of the games ahead." That confidence was visible when Bravo spoke about the Indian challenge. "It's another tough game against a team whose strength lies in their batting," he said. "But we have the right bowlers to control their batting. "Cricket is played on the day. India could turn up on Tuesday and be knocked over, or score a big total again as they normally do. "I have the right attack if I want to go with someone with raw pace. I have the reserve bench that is strong enough to actually come up with the 11 that I think will do well against the Indians." Dhoni also had the same approach of living by the moment when asked how India are coping with pressure from back home, where a spot-fixing scandal in the IPL is growing every day and has caught players, officials and team owners in its wake. "We don't get to read any newspapers, so whatever is happening back home is happening back home," Dhoni said. "We are just really doing our practice sessions and we're doing the best we can." Dhoni conceded his strategy was not reliant too much on pointers from watching the Pakistan-West Indies game. "You can just get a general idea out of it, but still, it's very important to back the strengths that we have got as a team, to back our strength and work on our weakness," he said. "I think a basic game plan is something that's very necessary, and you change or adapt according to what comes your way. "But at the same time, what it does is it helps you make that game plan quite easy, because you already know how the wicket is behaving and how most of the batsmen are batting. "It's the same wicket that was used in the last game. It has a bit of a grass covering, and it had a bit of bounce in the last game, so fast bowlers will get a bit of bounce, but since it's a used wicket it may be that the spinners get a bit more turn compared to the last game." India will be playing West Indies for the first time at the venue in 30 years. The last time they clashed on June 25, India won the 1983 World Cup final in what was a huge upset. While Bravo is counting on his bowlers, Dhoni was not taking the batting lightly, which has IPL heroes Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Bravo himself, and picked Gayle out as the danger man. "[Gayle] is one of those individuals that have a big impact on the game," Dhoni said. "It's always good to get them out early. Our fast bowlers will have a fair chance in that they'll have two new balls to get him out. "Yeah, it will be an interesting game because what's important is to realise if you don't get batsmen like Chris Gayle out, most likely he'll take you out of the game." India have won eight of their last 11 one-dayers against the West Indies over the past three years. Follow us

Champions Trophy: Dhoni wary of Chris Gayle threat

India also watching out for IPL's other West Indian stars, Bravo and Pollard, in Group B clash on Tuesday.