India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni insists playing in front of a sell-out crowd will inspire his side when they face Australia in the World Cup quarter-finals on Thursday. The Sardar Patel Stadium has a capacity of over 48,000 and there will be few spare seats to be had when co-hosts India play the defending champions. Dhoni is well used to shouldering the burden of the hopes of billions of India supporters and the wicketkeeper-batsman said he would draw strength from the fanatical support.
"It is a big advantage," said Dhoni. "You have 30,000-40,000 people coming to the ground to cheer for you. If they are cheering for you then it definitely makes a difference. "The pressure of expectation has always been a big part of the Indian cricket team. On most occasions the level of expectation level is not set by you as an individual but is set by others." Matches between India and Australia have produced some of cricket's most thrilling contests in recent times.
"In the last two to three years we have seen that India-Australia series are among the most viewed which means that the players are more intense on the field and they want to give their best," Dhoni said. "They know that the whole world is keeping a keen eye on the contest between the players. "That's a big positive for both sides because you want your key players to perform and being intense also helps you perform."
Australia's fast bowling trio of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson are all set to test the notion that India's batsmen are vulnerable to short-pitched bowling. However, Dhoni said: "They definitely they have got good fast bowlers. But don't forget we have won a Test match at Perth (which historically has produced one of world cricket's quickest pitches), the last time we won at Durban (against an impressive South Africa pace attack). "People have been talking about short-pitched stuff a lot. It's not new to us. It always follows us.