The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Chance for India to drive home the advantage

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Friday, Jun 30, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Chance for India to drive home the advantage

S. Ram Mahesh

RESILIENT: As always Anil Kumble has toiled manfully in the series.

Kingston: This is it — the final, excruciating mile of the knackered marathoner. For the last month and a half, Team India has hopped on and off more planes than some pilots, and has travelled across the Caribbean on a quest yet unfulfilled.

Now, Rahul Dravid's men, in the curious case of marathon coming full circle, are back where they started — Jamaica, ``the land where them pillaging pirates and them scoundrels once ruled; now it belongs to the arts,'' as a local with a gift for phrase put it.

The land of the dread-locked Bob Marley is where one of ``them scoundrels,'' Dwayne Bravo, caballed a slower ball under Yuvraj Singh's bat to give West Indies a shock win: a win that started something special (4-1) in the one-dayers, a win Brian Lara seems to slip into most answers in press conferences.

Lone win

This land is also the site of India's only international victory of the tour — the first ODI. Things have changed since. The visiting side has regrouped admirably after the one-day series defeat to get to within an inch of winning the first Test. Only the loss of a day's play to rain saved West Indies in the second; the third saw a Laxman-authored fightback from 159 for five — in response to West Indies' 581 — that culminated in India ending the final day on top.

The better side over three Tests, India enters the fourth, which begins here at Sabina Park on Friday, tied 0-0 with West Indies. If ever there was an opportunity to end strongly, crook a thumb at petty-minded detractors, and give Jamaicans an abiding memory to replace that of Bishen Bedi declaring at 97 for five, this is it. There is, however, little point looking that far ahead.

Importance of improving

``Winning and losing is not the most important thing,'' said Indian coach Greg Chappell. ``It keeps the wolves at bay, but the most important thing is to improve. We've done each of batting, bowling, and fielding well at different stages. We must do it all together.''

The batting, among the first things to desert ship on disastrous foreign series, has held. Bar the first innings in Antigua, India's batsmen have — as per the situation — dictated play or back-pedalled with alacrity, handling both cut and reverse swing without fuss. To be fair, none of the tracks so far have been acute tests; yes, batting on occasion against the hard new ball hasn't been easy, but nowhere as demanding as a first-day Gabba strip or a dank Headingley wicket.

Some of the bowling has been heartening: Munaf Patel commands tremendous respect from the West Indian batsmen, who concede the tall, slightly round-armed seamer can get the better of a willow wielder if allowed a succession of deliveries at him. Anil Kumble, when not denied near-dead leg-befores, has been thrifty.

Fair analysis needed

``The bowling must be looked at in the context of the series,'' said Chappell. ``We have got more wickets than the West Indians on slow, low wickets that are tough to bowl on. We have three young — four really, Irfan is a young bowler as well — bowlers that are leaning the ropes.''

If the strip is a sticky dog, the extra seamer could come in. Sreesanth, struck a blow on the helmet during practice, suffered ``little more than a bruised ego,'' according to Chappell, and is expected to be fit. The question on whether five bowlers will play — it's always asked — was given the standard depending-on-conditions line.

West Indies — despite Lara saying his team has the edge! — has been content to hang back. The few passages of play the islanders have wrested from India have been wrested right back thanks both to the tourist's resilience and a lack of desire — and perhaps ability — from West Indies.

``The one thing I'm concerned about is the combination,'' said Lara who played seven batsmen in the third Test. ``We lacked the firepower to bowl the Indians out.'' As a result, another player — a fast bowler, either Jermaine Lawson or Tino Best, according to sources — is expected to be added to the West Indies squad of 13.

The teams (from):

India: Rahul Dravid (capt.), Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Yuvraj Singh, V.V.S. Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Ramesh Powar, V.R.V. Singh and Dinesh Kaarthick.

West Indies: Brian Lara (capt.), Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ian Bradshaw, Jerome Taylor, Corey Collymore, Pedro Collins and Marlon Samuels.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Brian Jerling (South Africa).

Third umpire: Steve Bucknor.

Match referee: Jeff Crowe.

Hours of play (IST): 8.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., 11.10 p.m. to 1.10 a.m., and 1.30 a.m. till close.

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