Bhajji will come good soon: Dhoni

New Delhi: He did frustrate the Aussies with his lusty hittings in the first ODI, but Harbhajan Singh the spinner has been a shadow of himself in this series so far.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni though, brushed aside the talks of having a wrinkled forehead due to his off-spinner’s lackluster form.

"For sure, he is not at his best. But considering the kind of player he is, for someone who loves challenges, I think he is just one game away from bouncing back.

"We are not worried about players who have so much of international experience," Dhoni said.

His assertions notwithstanding, the India captain had a long session with Harbhajan in the nets where the off-spinner was asked to pitch his deliveries on a stump placed at the good length area.

Subsequently, Harbhajan was seen bowling to a single wicket with Virender Sehwag facing him.

Dhoni said it was a regular kind of practice. "It's a simple practice, which we often do with bowlers bowling to a single wicket," he said.

While all the Indian players sweated out in the two-hour practice session, Ashish Nehra stayed away from action, playing football and doing stretching instead.

"This was an optional session. It's a long seven-match series and if an individual wants rest, it's fine. He wanted rest and so did not take part," Dhoni said.

Saturday's match could also see Sachin Tendulkar reaching the 17,000 ODI runs, he is just 79 runs away from the mark and Dhoni said it would be a momentous occasion.

"It would be a milestone indeed. He is such a great batsman. Whenever he walks out, we all expect big scores. He not only scores himself but also guides his partner," Dhoni said.

Tendulkar, like Harbhajan, has not been at his best either and one notion is that the senior batsman should allow the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to open the innings and come down at number three.

Dhoni, however, said he was “happy” with Tendulkar and Sehwag opening.

Dhoni was sensational in the previous match in Nagpur where his swashbuckling century fashioned India's emphatic 99-run win over the visitors.

Asked to rank the innings among his tons, Dhoni said, "It's difficult to rank since I have got just five centuries. But it was special of course.”

According to him, the win in Nagpur has brought back momentum but the team needed to see every match as a fresh challenge.

“We have to start from scratch in every game. With two matches gone, now it has become a five-match series for us and though win brings in confidence, we have to start afresh," he said.

On the Feroz Shah Kotla track, Dhoni predicted the ball will keep low and it will not be a run-feast on Saturday.

"We saw during Champions League that it was slow, kept low and turned a lot. It will be difficult to set a target here. You need a good start," the Indian skipper said.