The Hindu : Sport : Crunch match for both teams

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

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Sport

Crunch match for both teams

By S. Dinakar

BALAJI EXPRESS STEAMS IN: Zaheer Khan is all attention as L. Balaji bowls at the nets at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. — Photo: S. Subramanium

KOLKATA, MARCH 15. Pakistan holds the psychological edge going into the second TVS Cup Test beginning here at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. The game's history is dotted with instances of teams coming through tough situations gaining in self-belief.

And cricket is much about confidence. John Wright realises this only too well. It was here at the Eden Gardens that Sourav Ganguly's men staged a miracle ambushing the mighty Australians in 2001 and that remarkable victory, and the mental resilience secured from it, propelled the side to great heights.

Bob Woolmer would be hoping to consolidate on the gains of Mohali, while Wright, who has already implored the Indians to rediscover the desire and the motivation, would be seeking to turn his cricketers into a more pro-active bunch — India was waiting for things to happen on day five of the first Test while the pacing of its innings of day three was awry.

Both the sides realise the significance of the second Test of a three-match series where the first Test had failed to produce a result. This is clearly crunch time.

There is only a thin coating of grass on the pitch, which should assist the spinners from the latter stages of the third day, however, Sourav Ganguly did not rule out the possibility of India picking three pacemen.

It would not be surprising if both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh bowl in tandem, with Ganguly doubling up as the third seamer. Either Irfan Pathan or Zaheer Khan should make way for Harbhajan.

Rana injured

Inzamam-ul-Haq was not willing to reveal the composition of Pakistan's attack, but with Rana Naved-ul-Hassan suffering a shoulder strain, left-arm paceman Mohammed Khalil could provide the attack with the much-needed variety.

Pakistan's top-order woe continues. While vice-captain Younis Khan could get another opportunity, Shahid Afridi might replace one of the young openers Salman Butt or Taufeeq Umar.

Curator Probir Mukherjee said, "This will be a firm, even bouncy wicket. It will help the seamers early on and will spin from the fourth day." He was firm that the pitch would not crack but added a bowler would have to use the rough created by footmarks.

Harbhajan would remember those footmarks well. In the last Test at the Eden Gardens during December 2004, the off-spinner hounded the Proteas by getting the ball to turn and jump from the rough created by left-arm pacemen. In fact, that wicket, which Mr. Mukherjee says is similar in nature to the present one, took stark turn from the post-tea session on the fourth day.

Batting first on this track might be the wiser option if a side backs itself to overcome the first session on the opening day when there could be a measure of assistance for the pacemen. Of course, the dynamics of the game could change in the event of rain or a cloud cover, which cannot be ruled out over the next five days.

Sachin Tendulkar, awaiting his 35 Test hundred, is now only 27 short of 10,000 Test runs. And his duel with the impressive leg-spinner Danish Kaneria will be watched with interest. Kaneria, a definite factor in the Pakistani attack, might have actually prevented the host from preparing a rank turner. The leggie could have support in Afridi's fastish leg-breaks, and if Pakistan is willing to drop a specialist paceman, off-spinner Arshad Khan.

In cricket's grand theatre, the Eden Gardens, the Indians need to get their act together.

The teams:

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Dinesh Kaarthick (w.k), Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, L. Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Aashish Nehra. Coach: John Wright.

Pakistan (from): Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Taufeeq Umar, Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (w.k), Mohammed Sami, Danish Kaneria, Mohammed Khalil, Arshad Khan, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Shoaib Malik. Coach: Bob Woolmer.

Umpires: Messrs. Steve Bucknor and Darryl Hair; Third umpire: Mr. A.V. Jayaprakash; Match Referee: Mr. Chris Broad.

India at Eden Gardens

All: Played 33, Won 7, Drawn 18, Lost 8.

Versus Pakistan: Played 5, Won 0, Drawn 4, Lost 1.

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