PTI

Abu Dhabi, Apr 18: India's captain Rahul Dravid says taking on arch-rivals Pakistan in back-to-back matches at the fag end of a season will be a tough task, but a loss will not take the sheen off what his side has achieved already this year.

"Two performances cannot take away anything; it is people's perception. Our performance still stands even if we lose these two games; we have taken good strides in this past season," Dravid said on the eve of the first One-Day International in the DLF Cup series in Abu Dhabi.

India have not lost a one-day series this season -- winning against Sri Lanka (6-1), Pakistan (4-1) and England (5-1), and drawing against South Africa (2-2) -- for a 17-5 win-loss record going into the competition.

Dravid expects the matches, being played to raise funds for last year's Kashmir earthquake victims, to be as close as those on India's visit to Pakistan two months ago.

"It is a one-day competition at a new venue. We start afresh. The series that we won in Pakistan were all very close matches. We expect similarly close games here," he said.

Dravid said the players have to keep in mind the larger picture of playing for charity to lift themselves up for the two matches on the trot.

"It is going to be a challenge, it is not going to be easy. We hope that the momentum that we have built will take care of these two matches as well."

He added that it has been one of the toughest seasons of his career.

"Yes, it has been probably the toughest; I have been playing since July, I also played the World Series when the rest of the team got some time to rest," he said.

"I have been playing for eight months. It has been one of the toughest seasons, but it has also been enjoyable."

Dravid reiterated the team's faith in the out of form Virender Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif, saying they form the nucleus of the team for the World Cup.

"We have a lot of faith in Sehwag and Kaif. We are getting a fair idea of what we want going into the World Cup.

"The pieces are falling in places and Sehwag and Kaif are very important in our plans going into the future. Whether they play tomorrow or not is not important."

Asked if fast bowlers Ashish Nehra and Laxmipathy Balaji, who went out of the team with injuries, had a chance of coming back into the side, Dravid said the onus is on the players.

"The competition is very stiff. Nehra and Balaji have not played cricket for quite some time due to injury. It is up to them to come back from their injuries and put their hands up for selection by their performances.

"Some of the young bowlers have taken the responsibility and have done a very good job. They are just 20-21, and it is really remarkable the way they have performed."

On former England captain Graham Gooch's comment that India should not peak too early in the lead up to the World Cup, Dravid replied, "We would rather win games and peak rather than lose matches."

He was guarded in his response when asked whether it is the end of the road for his predecessor, Sourav Ganguly.

"It is never the road for end of anyone. I am not chairman of selectors, and for me to make any blanket statement would be wrong," he said.

On Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif, who troubled the Indian batsmen on their visit earlier this year, Dravid said, "He has been bowling very well, but we won't make the mistake of focussing on any one player."

Asked whether the team will miss the services of Sachin Tendulkar, he replied, "He is a great player, always going to be missed. He is a critical part of our team, but having said that, some of the younger players have come in and risen to the challenge.

"Sachin will add to the strength of the side when he comes back. In fact, it is good that he is out now; it will give him enough time to recover for the World Cup."

He also said the team has taken up with the Board the issue of extra workload after the BCCI announced a series of matches in neutral venues in the next five years.

"We have spoken to the BCCI; we want to ensure no extra load is put on the players.

"We have got this assurance from them since we made it clear to them that there was already a huge amount of work load on us," Dravid said.

India and Pakistan renew battle in the desert

PTI

Abu Dhabi: India and Pakistan will renew their battle in the desert after a six-year gap putting behind the whiff of scandal associated with these venues for a noble cause when they play two one-day cricket matches here tomorrow and the day after.

The desert venues have not been particularly lucky for the Indians but Rahul Dravid and his men, riding the crest of a successful run in one-dayers, will be keen to settle old scores with their arch rivals.

The two rivals have not played a match in the UAE since March 26, 2000 as the Indian Government had banned the team from playing in off-shore venues like Sharjah during the height of the match-fixing scandal.

But the lifting of the ban has allowed the two Cricket Boards to arrange the two-match series to raise funds for the earthquake victims of India and Pakistan.

The Indians have hardly had any time to savour their 5-1 triumph over England, flying in here the very morning after the seventh and final match in Indore on Saturday.

The victory was still hanging heavy, evident in the confident stride of the players as they geared up for another contest with their traditional foes, albeit at a new venue in the UAE -- the Zayed Stadium which would be hosting its first ever ODI.

Hopefully, the new ground and new city will help the Indian team bury the ghosts of Sharjah where India have just won six of their 24 matches against Pakistan.

The Indians, no doubt, will draw confidence from their exploits during the last series against Pakistan when they beat them with an emphatic 4-1 margin.