The Hindu : Sport : Time running out for Team India

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Tuesday, Nov 28, 2006
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Time running out for Team India

S. Dinakar

Young Indian batsmen need to be groomed properly at home

AN ALTERNATIVE CHOICE: Young Dinesh Karthik looked better organised at the crease than some of the specialist batsmen at Newlands. — PHOTO: AFP

Port Elizabeth: India shot itself on the foot at Newlands on Sunday. Actually, it has been doing so for quite some time now.

The side seems to be seized by the fear of success.

Winning is a habit. Teams on a losing streak do not quite know how to close out games. And when they stare at a win, they panic.

India's slump could not have arrived at a worse time. Only 10 ODIs stand between the Men in Blue and the World Cup. In several senses, the countdown has begun.

It can be argued that the conditions in the West Indies will be vastly different from that in South Africa. Yet, did not this Indian side lose 4-1 to the host in the Caribbean early this year?

Poor batting

Then, some said the pitches in West Indies were too slow for the Indian batsmen. Now, they say it is the bounce and the movement of the South African wickets. Do the Indian batsmen require perfect conditions to bat in?

It is clear that the Indian batting, much flaunted, is relying increasingly on the conditions.

India needs to put a system in place at home to ensure that the young Indian batsmen do not get embarrassed in a manner such as this on the international arena.

Skipper Rahul Dravid, typically, showed some pluck and courage, on Sunday and M.S. Dhoni blazed away. Otherwise, there was very little in terms of substance. The bowlers, save Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble, disappointed too. India is not firing collectively.

The side needs to wake up from its slumber.

India requires a re-look at its team composition. The side, on paper, had five bowlers at Newlands. But were there really five bowlers?

Pathan's woes

Can you call Irfan Pathan, in the kind of form that he is in, a fifth bowler? He has lost pace and cannot be risked in the end overs. The batsmen seem to have sorted him out with the new ball too, and the left-armer is being taken for runs. He has to work on his variations. His bowling no longer has the surprise element.

And can you pick the young man for his batting in these conditions? Under the circumstances, Pathan's selection does not add to the side.

S. Sreesanth deserves a fling. He has an outswinger that stings and can get the batsmen to hurry their strokes. He would also bring with him a dash of aggression.

Zaheer bowled a sensational opening spell in the third ODI. Yet, there was virtually no pressure at the other end with Ajit Agarkar and Pathan struggling. This provided South Africa an escape route.

The logic of playing two spinners will depend on the nature of the surface for the remaining two games. The fielders may have let him down, but Harbhajan Singh has been below par. Kumble was spot on, though, and deserves a fair run.

Not the right ploy

On what are essentially seaming tracks, Dravid has a problem in the management of overs with two spinners in the eleven. Bowling them in tandem in the middle overs is not quite the right ploy on these wickets.

Kumble, with his experience, can perhaps bowl at the `Death' if the team management is willing to back him, even if his figures are dented to some extent.

Ideally, Zaheer and Sreesanth should open the attack. And India can have either, Munaf Patel (if he recovers from his ankle injury) or Agarkar — both can achieve reverse swing — operating with Kumble in the end overs.

India does not have too many options in batting in this series. Virender Sehwag's agony continues. He is a match-winner, but could be walking on thin ice and now has the additional responsibility of leading the side in Dravid's absence. Mohammed Kaif is a shadow of the batsman he once was.

The fact that the young Dinesh Karthik looked better organised at the crease than some of the specialist batsmen does not present the others in favourable light.

If the young specialists keep faltering, India will have to look back at experience. This beleaguered side does not have much time on its hands.

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