India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni says bowling remains an area of concern ahead of their World Twenty20 opener against Pakistan here Friday.
"The bowling department is still an area of concern if you compare it to our batting," Dhoni told reporters on the eve of the clash between the arch-rivals.
"Getting off to a good start, that is something that is really important for us. If we have wickets in hand we have seen in the past that we can score maybe 10-15 runs more than what can be a par score. In a short format like this, 10-15 runs really matter. Apart from that, the fielding has been good. Overall if we do well in the death bowling and bat well throughout we have a very good chance."
India lost narrowly to Sri Lanka in the first warm-up game before turning it around against England Wednesday with Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli getting amongst the runs.
Asked what he thought of the two practice games, Dhoni said: "Through the practice games we wanted to give the guys, who were not part of the Asia Cup, a fair time in the middle and I was quite happy with the way Yuvraj (Singh) and Raina performed.
"Raina has also contributed with his bowling. Whatever we wanted to achieve from the practice games we have achieved that. It looks set but still there are quite a few areas where we will have to improve when it comes to a proper game because you won't really have the luxury of playing 15 players," said Dhoni, who missed the Asia Cup with a side strain.
Indian bowlers struggle in the death overs and and to add to it, three of the four pacers (barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar) are yet to make their international T20 debut.
"If you talk about international T20s, our fast bowlers have not played much. But they have spent a lot of time in the IPL where the conditions are a bit similar so I think to some extent that will help," said Dhoni.
"Overall when it comes to contribution, we would want them to bowl well with the new ball. If we can get one-two wickets with the new ball, it is considered a good start. Especially in this format if you keep getting regular wickets, the opposition is not able to score too freely. We will try to take wickets with the new ball and then they will come on and bowl in the last few overs."
