The Hindu : Sport : The final promises to be intriguing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 14, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

The final promises to be intriguing

S. Dinakar

Dhoni will look for successive ODI series triumph

— Photo: AFP

TOUGH TASK AHEAD: Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, seen at a practice session on Friday, will have to play out of their skins to stop the rampaging Indians.

Dhaka: Favourite India will be wary of a team that has been wounded. Despite the lop-sided nature of the results in the Kitply tri-series so far, the final promises to be intriguing.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side has depth and options. It has come together well as a unit. The PCB’s response after Pakistan was pounded by India in the league game has pushed Shoaib Malik’s team into a corner.

The side could come back hard in the day/night title clash at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Saturday.

Dhoni will be eying a successive ODI series win after the triumph down under earlier this year.

The conditions for the final game will remain more-or-less the same as the previous games. This is a surface that slows down as the match progresses.

However, a cloud cover and the heavy atmospheric conditions have resulted in the swing bowlers picking up wickets as well.

The side winning the toss should opt to bat. Stroke-making is easier in the initial phase on this surface and it is also easier to spot the white ball initially.

In theory, a surface of this nature should roughen up the ball and encourage reverse swing. However, the ball has not reversed in a pronounced fashion during the series. Perhaps, the mandatory change of ball after the 34th over is a factor.

The Indians have requested that the ball be replaced earlier, around the 25th over, since the sighting of a mud-coloured ball becomes progressively difficult.

Potent openers

Openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir provide little respite to the attack. They harness the pace of the ball cleverly in the Power Play overs.

Perhaps, Pakistan could take the pace off the ball initially and give the responsibility of opening the bowling to someone like leg-spinner Shahid Afridi. But Gambhir is among the finest players of spin in world cricket.

The Indian think-tank has striven to get a right-left combination even after the opening partnership has been dislodged.

India bats deep, can rotate the strike in the crucial middle overs, and then up the tempo towards the end.

Pakistan found Praveen Kumar’s quick-arm action and swing hard to pick in the league game. Then leg-spinner Piyush Chawla mixed his leg-spinners with the googly and the top-spinner to torment them. Ishant Sharma with his pace and bounce will be a key component of the Indian attack.

Pakistan requires a major innings from one of its top-order batsmen, possibly Salman Butt. Kamran Akmal has been stroking the ball well but his ’keeping form has dipped alarmingly.

Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik have the strokes, but their shot-selection needs to be better in the final.

Pakistan is also short in the spin department; there is hardly any viable support for Afridi. Young spinner Fawad Alam might get a look-in ahead of paceman Rao Iftekar Anjum. There will also be pressure on skipper Malik to chip in with his off-spin.

Pakistan’s best chance for a win will hinge on either or both its key pacemen, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir, having a big day.

The teams (from):

India: M.S. Dhoni (Capt.), V. Sehwag, G. Gambhir, Y. Singh, R. Sharma, S. Raina, Y. Pathan, I. Pathan, P. Chawla, P. Kumar, I. Sharma, R.P. Singh, R. Uthappa, M. Gony, P. Ojha.

Pakistan: S. Malik (Capt.), S. Butt, K. Akmal, Y. Khan, M. Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, S. Afridi, F. Alam, S. Tanvir, U. Gul, W. Riaz, Naumanullah, B. Khan, S. Khan, N. Jamshed.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva and N. Shah. Match Referee: J. Crowe.

Match starts at 2.30 p.m. (IST).

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport