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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007
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We're looking for 3-0

Our bowling has been a real success story over the past few months, says Tom Moody

The win at Rajkot was just what we needed after the frustration of Kolkata. Needless to say, we are now looking at a 3-0 scoreline, which would give us great momentum going into the World Cup. And I am not talking about revenge for last year's 6-1 scoreline, though the media have done their best to establish the revenge angle. Too much water has passed under the bridge for us to be taking that stance.

To get back to the present, Sunday's game has proved that whatever the situation, there is one thing that this Sri Lankan team can do, and do well — hang in the fight. At no stage did we give up the battle at Rajkot, not even when Tendulkar and Ganguly were building their partnership, and not even when India needed 20-odd runs off 4.3 overs with five wickets in hand.

However, I would not want to get too carried away with the victory, because we need to stick to our game plan whether we are on top or not.

The pitch at Margao looks like a pretty good batting track, and the last match that was played here (India vs. England in April 2006) was a pretty high-scoring affair that India won by 50-odd runs. However, we also know that India has played four games here and lost three, two of which were to Sri Lanka. So we are looking forward to batting here, though I am pretty sure our bowlers will be up to the task as well.

A real success story

Indeed, our bowling has been a real success story over the past few months. If you look at the team's performance, you will notice that whenever we have done badly, it is our batting that has proved the weaker link, so I am not really surprised by the fact that we defended the decent but not formidable total at Rajkot.

At the start of this tour, there was some talk about whether the team would be weakened by Murali and Chaminda's absence. I think our bowlers have provided the answer. As a coach, it is particularly heartening to see the way our second line of attack has assumed responsibility in the absence of our spearheads. This is a vital development ahead of the World Cup, because for a tournament of that length, you can never be sure that your principal eleven will remain fit to play throughout.

Wednesday's match will probably see an unchanged Sri Lankan side, though we are considering the option of Dilhara Fernando. However, we are yet to take a call on that. The Indians will be without Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble and Sreesanth. I understand there has been some confusion about the injuries being carried by a few Indian players, and though I wouldn't want to comment on what is an essentially an internal matter for India, a general rule of thumb in such cases is for a player to be totally open and honest about his injuries and even niggles. The only way to combat these things is to get on top of them before they grow legs, though once again, I am not sure that applies to India until I know more.

No surprises

Off the field, both Sri Lanka and India have announced their World Cup squads, with no major surprises in either. We have been looking at our key players for a long time now, and the selection has gone pretty much according to plan. For India, a few comments have been made about Sehwag's selection, but despite his recent hiccups, all it takes for a batsman of his calibre is one big innings to turn things around.

But that is for the future. For now, we are geared for match no. 3, having spent the morning training hard, and then catching a round of golf. The boys have told me that Goa reminds them of home, and we are eagerly looking forward to the encounter.

(Gameplan)

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