The Hindu : Sport : India still has a few unanswered questions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 17, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

India still has a few unanswered questions

The remaining three Tests are going to be close affairs, writes Steve Waugh

While most of the doubts that hung over the Australians were laid to rest in Bangalore, India go into the Mohali Test with a few prickly questions still unanswered. The foremost among these would be the form of their captain, Anil Kumble.

It was a disappointing outing for the champion spinner, but he needs to be honest to himself about whether he is fully fit. I have no problems with him having an off-game, because that could happen to the best, but if he is not fully fit, he would be doing himself a great disservice by continuing to play.

Harbhajan Singh was also a little below par in Bangalore, and it was the exceptional bowling of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma that kept India afloat in the Test.

Seamer-friendly track

Mohali is a seamer-friendly track and while the Australians will like that, they must be careful about facing Ishant and Zaheer, because both are in very good rhythm at the moment.

India would also be hoping that their spin duo, particularly local boy Harbhajan, will also come up with some magic because he did look a little flat in the last game.

In the batting department too, I can’t put a finger on it, but there seems to be some spark missing in the middle order.

True, Rahul Dravid played well for his half-century in the first innings, but I would like to see him go for his strokes more and enjoy his game more. Dravid is a class act, and has nothing left to prove, so he must enjoy his time in the middle and not merely try to survive.

Crucial knock

I thought Sachin Tendulkar played a crucial knock in the second innings. If he had been dismissed cheaply on the last day, there is no doubt in my mind that the rest of the batsmen would have hit the panic button.

He will be a lot happier once he gets past the record that now stands just 14 runs away.

After the Bangalore Test, Zaheer observed that he doubted whether this Australian attack could get 20 wickets. If Zaheer intended to spur on the likes of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, he has said the right thing. Such comments are not going to help India’s cause, and I wish he would focus on what he is doing well at the moment, and that is bowling.

The loss of Stuart Clark to injury would be a blow to Australia, because he has been their most consistent bowler this year.

However, that blow notwithstanding, Ricky Ponting will be looking forward to Mohali now that he has gotten rid of the ‘underperformer in India’ tag.

Relief for Ponting

Ponting would also be relieved on two counts — that his pace bowlers were successful against the Indian top order and that his spinners did as well as their Indian counterparts. His ploy of playing Shane Watson as an all-rounder has also given the team a nice balance and an extra bowling option.

Ponting, therefore, has not only the self-belief of a captain who is playing well but also the confidence of a leader whose decisions have worked. This means that he will be going into Friday’s game with a lot more confidence and composure than Kumble.

I still maintain that the remaining three Tests are going to be close affairs. I also feel that there will be a result in all three and the scoreline will be 2-1.

I hope my predictions are right because Test cricket does need a riveting series to counter the rollercoaster excitement of Twenty20 cricket. These two sides bring out the best in each other and while the draw at Bangalore was a tangy appetiser, the main course starts on Friday morning.

Gameplan

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

Sport