Kingston: India will look to maintain its enviable recent record in one-day cricket when it plays West Indies in the first of the five one-dayers on Thursday at the curious mixture of rubble and turf that Sabina Park currently is.

Progress at the stadium, blighted by cement shortage, has stuttered and started, and now needs an almighty push to make the 2007 World Cup. India, seemingly, has no such problem; it will get to the World Cup just fine, thank you very much. The side has built nicely over the past seven months, winning 19 of its last 26 matches and setting the world record for most successful chases.

India's causes for concern are bowling at the death; batting first, to a lesser degree. The second mentioned is often an indicator of how well a team reads conditions first up, adapts and resets targets, much as batting second is an index of the ability to hold nerve and compartmentalise innings.

In this context, India's performance in the warm-up match against Jamaica was impressive for the track was slow, yet it ran up a score of 289 courtesy industry in the middle overs and flair at the end. "On a slow track, most of the batsmen got in and got runs," said captain Rahul Dravid before turning attention to the other cause for concern, "and in the given conditions, the bowling was pretty sharp as well. Munaf was very good, he came back and bowled beautifully in the second spell."

Keeping faith

Mohammad Kaif's 49 in the practice match was the sound of another cog groaning into place — despite his recent wobbly run, the team management has kept faith and carried him. This series could be his big chance to step up, as his mate Yuvraj has.

The other feature of the warm-up game was the team's intensity level. "We played in top gear," said Dravid. "We won well, and that is because we played well. Sometimes, in side games, you can make the mistake of going in without giving a hundred percent. But the boys were keen and hungry; perhaps the fact that they are playing after a short break helped."

Off-spinner Ramesh Powar — that throwback to an era bygone — will miss the match with a twisted ankle. "We will assess him (Powar) after the next 48 hours and after every 48 hours and see how it goes," said Dravid. "He has done a great job for the team, he has filled in the fifth bowler's role extremely well.

"Sreesanth is also nursing an injury (bruised knee), and we will monitor his progress too. Fortunately, we have four or five other bowlers in the side which means that we don't have to play people with slight injuries, which could lead to the injuries becoming more serious."

No pushover

West Indies, fed on a diet of the hapless Zimbaweans, will be no pushover. It has the batting talent in Gayle, Chanderpaul, Sarwan and, of course, the captain himself. Runako Morton has been in good form recently. Fidel Edwards's slingy, skiddy pace (often at over 90 mph) will be complemented by Jerome Taylor's bounce and movement in the bowling department.

"You are going to see a team that has a little more confidence," Lara told local newsmen. "I think winning is contagious and the guys are gaining confidence. Hopefully by Thursday we will have a team that is well oiled and gelling together and looking forward to the series."

Lara also drew attention to India's long flight here, and the change in conditions — something that may have a bearing because the visitors haven't been able to practise at Sabina Park.

"Ideally, it would have been nice if we could have practised there," said Dravid.

"But we understand that the practice facilities are not yet in place as they work to upgrade the facilities for next year's World Cup. We just have to get on with it."

The teams (from):

India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Venugopala Rao, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, R.P. Singh, S. Sreesanth and Robin Uthappa.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh (wk), Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Corey Colleymore, Ian Bradshaw and Dave Mohammed.

Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Steve Bucknor; Third umpire: Billy Doctrove; Match referee: Jeff Crowe

Hours of play (IST): 8 p.m. to 11.30 p.m., 12.15 p.m. till close.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail