Centurion, Sept. 29: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows his team’s fate is no longer in their hands. After Monday’s washed out game at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, India have just one point in their kitty and now need Pakistan to beat Australia and thereafter beat the West Indies in their final Group A league game at the Wanderers here to qualify for the semifinals of the 2009 Champions Trophy.

"I believe they are playing a day game and we are playing a day-nighter," Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference here on Tuesday. "By the time we start our game, we will be knowing where we stand, what we actually need to do. Accordingly we will decide the playing XI. Let’s see how it goes, hopefully Pakistan will win."

Dhoni is faced with the piquant situation of needing India’s arch-rivals to win. Asked whether he felt Indian fans would not be rooting for Pakistan too, and whether he had suggestions for his counterpart Younis Khan, he grinned. "Younis is a good captain and he has got a different side. It is not about suggestions, it’s about what you can achieve with your team. I think Indian fans want us to qualify so I am sure they will definitely support the Pakistan team because of which we have a good chance of qualifying, whatever the venue may be. You can expect them to cheer Pakistan tomorrow, but it is entirely up to them."

Asked if he felt Pakistan would rest key players, Dhoni was straightforward. "Pakistan will not play thinking if they win, India will qualify. Whatever they need to experiment they will do because they have qualified, they will look at the future."

And what of his team’s shortcomings? What was the way out? "I think overall we have not bowled that well. That’s one thing we need to admit. But at the same time in the Pakistan game, whatever happened in the first innings, we were chasing a big score but we could have achieved that target.

"Unfortunately we were not able to, for some reason or the other, but bowling has been one of the factors. We have played just one game, we can’t say if the batting is down and out. We have bowled twice and what we have seen is that we are not bowling that well. But in the last game, I was happy with the performance when it comes to five bowlers taken together."

With key bowlers struggling and batsmen failing at important moments, how was he coping with the pressure? "Of course it is quite frustrating but at the end of the day you have to realise that everybody who turns up on the field is trying his best to make the team win.

"You keep motivating them, you just want them to bounce back. It’s about when you can really bounce back and it can happen really quickly in cricket. A few shots and a batsman can be in form, a few odd missed deliveries and all of a sudden, the batsman or bowler can go out of form."

So what would he tell the team ahead of Wednesday’s match? "I don’t think there is anything called a winning formula. Of course, you try to motivate your players to give their best because they are representing the country and it is a big tournament. We have played well for the last 18-20 months, so we all know we have the potential to do well."