Dhoni wants hat-trick of tons from Yuvraj

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is confident that stylish batsman Yuvraj Singh would go on to complete his hat-trick of tons in the third ODI against England on Thursday.

"I hope he scores his third consecutive century here and that would suit the team as well," Dhoni said after practice session at the Green Park Stadium on Wednesday.

Yuvraj has been in murderous form against England, hitting a 78-ball 138 in Rajkot and slamming, following it up with a 118 in Indore, apart from four wickets as well.

Dhoni doffed his hat at the Punjab batsman and said it was a pleasure to watch him on song.

"On song, Yuvraj is simply one of the best, even the top bowlers struggle against him," Dhoni observed.

"As a captain, I have noticed that all big players who slog down the order are left-handers, probably because the bowlers have sorted out the right-handers. They can bowl yorker or low full toss to a right-hander but struggle to find the right line for the left-handers.

"Yuvraj really stands out for he is a strong-hitter and hits along the ground," Dhoni said.

Asked what was his advice to Yuvraj, Dhoni quipped "I tell him see the ball, hit the ball. At times when a player goes through bad patch, you have to keep him motivated. But all the players in the team are very talented and you cannot really change their basics. All you can do is to motivate them," Dhoni said.

The trio of Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag were conspicuous in their absence at today's nets and Dhoni said they had decided to opt out of the session to catch some rest.