The Hindu : Sport : It's Mission World Cup for both teams

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Sunday, Jan 21, 2007
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It's Mission World Cup for both teams

G. Viswanath

Tendulkar to bat in middle order; West Indies to give chance to youngsters

— Photo: AFP

OPENING OPTIONS: The experimentations to strike the right balance will continue when a new opening pair in Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir takes guard on Sunday.

Nagpur: When India and the West Indies face off in the Pepsi Cup opener at the VCA Stadium here on Sunday, they will do so with a specific mission in mind — to find fit and competent players for the ICC World Cup campaign.

After the disastrous tour of South Africa skipper Rahul Dravid, coach Greg Chappell and the national selectors will have the onerous task of pruning the list of 30 probables announced for the World Cup to a 15-member unit in the course of 10 days of hectic travelling.

The first hint that Sachin Tendulkar will bat lower down was revealed by Dravid on Saturday.

This is being done primarily to bolster the middle order weakened by Yuvraj Singh's absence due to knee injury and the second to try out two left-handers — Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir — as openers.

Crucial

Dravid, who began the press conference by announcing the 12 for Sunday's game, said that the middle overs as they have seen it in the West Indies, will be crucial during the World Cup.

"Hence Tendulkar is in the middle order. There is an opportunity on Sunday and we have to explore it."

Terming the back-to-back series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka as `important', Dravid added, "The confidence level is quite good. We had three days of good practice. We believe that if we play good cricket, we will get a bit of a roll, a bit of a momentum and get some good results.

"We look to win the series match by match. We are looking to win the series, that's important leading into the World Cup. We must be pretty confident with the kind of players we have and that most of our key players are in form."

After a separate training session for the bowlers and batsmen on Saturday, Dravid said Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma and R.P. Singh will be the reserves and that the team will consider the option of playing two off-spinners after seeing the pitch — described as dry by West Indies coach Bennett King.

Good pitch

Dravid said the pitch looked good for batting and should offer some turn. "It will be a challenge for us. They have played better than us recently. We came here a year back and everyone was saying that Sri Lanka had the psychological edge. We had a great game here and all that vanished. Cricket is about one game; it is about turning it around. The West Indies have a couple of key players and Chris Gayle is one of them."

The West Indies has not wasted time since arriving here on Friday morning.

The team has had two training and practice sessions in under 24 hours. King said, "When one door shuts the other door opens. This is a good opportunity for the youngsters as Sarwan is not here. That gives us a chance to push some of the younger guys to the top and give them a chance at number three or four prior to the World Cup. Wherever Lara bats, he is our best batsman. We have to focus on different stages of the match while batting or bowling."

Best team

The best team has to be picked for the World Cup said Dravid and sure enough one can expect the names of Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble and Yuvraj Singh, should he convince everyone that his knee will not flare up in the course of the competition. It's obvious now that either Gambhir or Uthappa will be picked for the World Cup.

When asked about Sehwag, Dravid said, "Viru, when playing well and in a good state of mind, mentally and physically, has been an asset for us. Sometimes playing games help, sometimes a bit of switching off mentally from things can benefit. Selectors have taken a decision and we have to respect and get the best out of it. The best players should go to the World Cup irrespective of the names; the best players in form and fitness, not on their reputations."

The teams: India (from 12): Rahul Dravid (capt.), Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (capt.), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, S. Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Reyad Emrit, Ian Bradshaw, Darren Powell.

Umpires: Billy Bowden and Suresh Shastri; Third umpire: G.A. Pratapkumar; Fourth umpire: V. N. Kulkarni: Match Referee: Alan Hurst.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12. 30 p.m. and from 1.15 p.m. onwards.

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