Declaring that there are no plans to rest Sachin Tendulkar, coach Greg Chappell said the Indian team will strive to maintain its supremacy over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international in Pune on Thursday.
"There is no such move [to rest Tendulkar]. As long as he's fit and well, he would play. We missed his presence in Sri Lanka," Chappell said, on the eve of the match at the Nehru stadium.
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The 56-year-old former Australia batsman said India cannot afford to relax.
"If we continue to perform as well as we have done over the last three games we would do well here too. But if we don't do it, we will be in trouble," he added.
The team, led by Rahul Dravid, made constant changes in the batting order which brought about stunning results. But Chappell maintained they were not mere "experiments" but part of "strategy" to flummox the Sri Lankans.
"It's more to do with strategy rather than experimenting. We want to adapt to situations as they develop and as per the conditions available on any given day," he said.
He also came to the defence of Virender Sehwag, who is yet to come up with a big score in the series. He said Sehwag played a vital role as partner to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who hit an explosive 183 not out in the last match in Jaipur.
"He [Sehwag] played a very important role in Jaipur with his experience and knowledge of the situation to help the youngster [Dhoni]. Not every one can score runs in every game," Chappell said.
Dravid described the wicket prepared for the Pune match as a good one.
"It looks to be a good wicket which may afford a bit of bounce early on. We had a good practice session today. We are very confident about our play and the general spirit in the team is also very good," he said.
India again left out Gautam Gambhir and Rudra Pratap Singh to retain the 13 who played in the previous games.
Dravid defended the team's bowling in Jaipur when the visitors scored a big total of 298 for four.
"It was a flat track and I thought we bowled well till the first 35 overs or so. Let us also give credit to [Kumar] Sangakkara and [Farveez] Maharoof. On such wickets your bowlers are bound to go for some runs," he said.
Chappell said the team needs to manage its resources well in the face of a tight schedule.
"We need to manage our resources well. This can be done by keeping the players within the team but changing their roles a bit [in order to help them recharge their low energy levels]."
To a pointed question on how the team is putting up such a fantastic display after looking a bit out of depth against the same opponents in Sri Lanka, Chappell replied: "It's a happier team now and winning."
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