The Hindu : Sport : A stern test awaits Dravid & Co.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 15, 2006
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A stern test awaits Dravid & Co.

Vijay Lokapally

POWER HITTERS: A lot will depend on batting stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni firing and setting up a healthy score for the bowlers to defend. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

JAIPUR: The game, as Greg Chappell maintains, has remained uncomplicated even though it has become tough in certain areas.

But as the day of reckoning dawns on Indian cricket, it is clear there are issues still confronting the players and administrators on the eve of the Champions Trophy clash against England.

Cricket may be a simple game but not its administration.

The Indian team has had sessions with the noted sports psychologist Rudy Webster. He has supporters in Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan, all incidentally looking to recapture their form, and all so crucial to the team's success.

Webster, Chappell and the support staff have worked tirelessly to prepare the Indians for their campaign that begins on Sunday; and then comes an 11-day gap before India plays its next game, a fact that did not go down well with Dravid.

"We could have done without such a long gap. It happened the last time too (in 2004) and can affect the momentum," lamented the skipper.

Difficult task

Keeping the preparations simple has been the most difficult job for the team management but then the objectivity behind the experiments faces a stern test at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here.

The pitch is untested, and the opposition motivated, as India continues to explore all possible combinations.

It is certain that Sehwag will return as Sachin Tendulkar's opening partner. It sends the right signals too because even the Pakistan coach, Bob Woolmer, has stressed that Sehwag is most exciting and valuable when opening.

India has concerns in all departments but there is optimism down the ranks. Dravid is short of form but sure of recapturing it in time; Sehwag is short of runs but high on confidence; Pathan, insists Chappell, is one spell away from silencing his critics; and Mahendra Singh Dhoni too is waiting to explode.

"I have enjoyed batting as an opener and I am just keen to get going," said Sehwag, a proven match-winner. His form is critical to the team's scheme of things and Dravid realises the importance of handing Sehwag the mantle of opening the innings. The playing composition will continue to vary with the playing conditions and the opposition but it augurs well when Dravid promises better results, come what may.

If batting is said to be India's strength, time has now come for the bowlers to be given healthy targets to defend. The batsmen have repeatedly played below their potential recently and Dravid could soon run out of excuses to protect some of the youngsters if they do not urgently deliver.

Performances have not matched the expectations in the cases of Suresh Raina and Rudra Pratap Singh while Yuvraj has continued to yearn for a settled slot in the batting order.

But Chappell is firm in his belief that everything is in order in the Indian camp and it is a matter of time before the team launches itself on a purposeful course aimed at winning the World Cup.

England can be a tough opponent, the dreadful show on its last visit an aberration considering the team's strength, then and now. The presence of Andrew Flintoff raises the team's stock by a mile.

Dangerous Pietersen

The dangerous Kevin Pietersen could well be the difference between a win and a loss while the Indian batsmen will have a huge challenge tackling the awesome pace and bounce that Steve Harmison can generate even in unfavourable conditions. The situation indeed is ripe for a cracker of a contest.

The acrimony between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the International Cricket Council on various matters related to financial agreements have cast an unpleasant shadow over the Champions Trophy but cricket would become the centrestage when Dravid and Flintoff walk out for the toss on Sunday.

The teams (from): India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Mongia, M.S. Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, R. P. Singh and Ramesh Powar.

England: Andrew Flintoff (captain), Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Chris Read, Paul Collingwood, James Dalrymple, Steve Harmison, Edmund Joyce, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, James Anderson, Rikki Clarke and Michael Yardy.

Umpires: Simon Taufel and Daryl Harper; Third umpire: Billy Bowden; Fourth umpire: Steve Bucknor; Match Referee: Jeff Crowe.

Hours of play: 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; 6.45 p.m. onwards.

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