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India targets evolution on revenge mission

S. Ram Mahesh

Windies test offers Dravid and company a chance to erase Caribbean nightmare

— PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

MASTER AND COMMANDER: Sachin Tendulkar's presence will give plenty of options for Rahul Dravid and a plethora of problems for the rival teams.

KUALA LUMPUR: West Indies will look to reopen old wounds while India seeks to prove it has learnt, moved on, and emerged stronger from its one-day debacle in the Caribbean, as the two sides clash in the second match of the DLF Cup here on Thursday.

Ah, stereotyping! As if things were that simple. Brian Lara might readily let on that his side has the "psychological edge" over India, but the point — it's one Rahul Dravid made — is the result in West Indies was a function of the surfaces of the Caribbean.

The trouble India had was specific: the batsmen couldn't work the middle overs — a phase in which Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels applied compression bandages with their fired-in spin — and got out either to shots of desperation or poor running.

Consequently, the slog was launched from a creaky foundation. Dravid said the same batting line-up would have fared differently on tracks that allowed the ball to come on.

The Indian captain's point was an admission of inadequacy — and of a need to find solutions in those conditions.

Pushing Virender Sehwag down the order to see what he could do was one of the solutions offered. The opportunity to dry-run some of these was lost in Sri Lanka — where the strips play similarly to West Indies — when the tri-series was abandoned.

New set of problems

So, the learning and the moving on could have happened for India: only, it might not be in evidence at the Kinrara Oval where the conditions are different. Victory does not necessarily equal redemption; nor does defeat confirm the failings in the Caribbean have been remedied — for India might have another set of problems.

The DLF Cup is a chance for India to mark its evolution as a one-day side against Australia's gold standard. Prior to the reverse in West Indies, the men in blue were the hottest ODI side going around, stacking up a record number of chases much as a bon vivant stacks up pancakes. But, the streak snapped. Hindsight will reveal if the defeat helped or harmed (Greg Chappell said it was a wakeup call).

The return of Sachin Tendulkar lasted all of 22 balls in the doomed tournament in the Emerald Isle. Not enough can be deduced from so short a passage of play, but if the master batsman returns half as successfully as he did against Sri Lanka in Nagpur late last year, things should settle nicely.

Dravid and Chappell have spoken of the importance of Tendulkar's presence: his genius brings an intangible to the table. Whatever the situation, whatever his current powers, the opposition will have to factor in the possibility of something otherworldly. Much like with Brian Lara. India played five bowlers in four of the five games in West Indies. Should it continue the trend — and double-guessing this team management is a mug's game — it's likely the team will prefer a seamer (indications favour R.P. Singh) to Ramesh Powar's spin based on Tuesday's showing of the Kinrara Oval wicket. By the same token, India could beef up its batting considering the track seamed right through the first game.

Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh were India's two best bowlers in the five-match series, and how they hold up should Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle stage an encore, will make for interesting viewing. With an ill Yuvraj Singh missing out, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Mongia will compete for a middle order slot if India picks five bowlers.

The one surface-independent aspect of India's game that imploded in the disappointing one-day leg of the West Indies tour was the ground fielding. A lot of work has gone into this facet, and the improvement — if any — will be played out against the backdrop of two excellent, athletic ground-fielding sides.

Speaking of implosion, it's a phenomenon West Indies is well acquainted with: Lara's men put on a show in Technicolour on Tuesday.

The teams (from):

India: Rahul Dravid (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Mongia, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, R.P. Singh, Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar.

West Indies: Brian Lara (capt), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh (wk), Ian Bradhsaw, Fidel Edwards, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Dwayne Smith, Runako Morton.

Umpires: Tony Hill (New Zealand) and Mark Benson (England). Third umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan). Match referee: Chris Broad.

Hours of play (IST): 12 noon to 3:30 p.m., 4:15 p.m. till close.

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