India were grappling with their bowling combination as they seek to break the series deadlock and go 1-0 up in the third cricket Test against the West Indies starting here on Thursday.
Ashish Shukla
ST. KITTS: Under fire for their skewed selection policy in the first two matches, India were grappling with their bowling combination as they seek to break the series deadlock and go 1-0 up in the third cricket Test against the West Indies starting here on Thursday.
Riled much by former cricketers and media back home for missing an extra bowler in the preceding two Tests which it could well have won, the Indian team management is choosing defiance over common-sense ahead of the crucial encounter.
Coach Greg Chappell began the tour as a promoter of five-bowler theory but by now is asserting that he wants to make sure his batsmen make big runs to pressurise the opposition, never mind if it is only four men manning the attack.
Captain Rahul Dravid is singing the same tune and swearing by four bowlers who nearly did the job in the last game. He is taking a lot of heart from how Virender Sehwag bowled in the last Test in St. Lucia.
While Indian team did everything but pull the noose in the first two games, it probably missed off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in the attack whose stock delivery leaves the left-hander of whom there are at least three in the top six of the West Indian line-up.
"In an ideal scenario, we would have liked to have five bowlers but Veeru has done the job for us. He adds extra string in the bow for us," Dravid said after the nets on Tuesday.
Chris Gayle, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are all left-handers and could have found Harbhajan a greater challenge than Sehwag however promising he might have been in the first two Tests.
Dravid and Chappell would be joined by Kiran More, chairman of national selectors who landed here on Tuesday, to decide the playing eleven.
The pitch, which sported some green tinge in the centre, would also be a factor in the decision over the team combination.
ICC's pitch expert Andy Atkinson was specially flown in at the instance of home captain Lara who wanted a seamer-friendly wicket to contain the in-form Indian batsmen.
But Atkinson was convinced the track would have nothing for the bowlers except for a bit of bounce.
As clouds encircled the pretty stadium once again in the afternoon, he hoped it would stay away to allow pitch to harden to the extent he wants.
The dilemma of Indian think-tank certainly has kept the likes of Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman on the edge and they must await an official word which could either confirm their worst fears or bring them relief.
Indian batsmen would relish the prospect of facing up to the mediocre home bowling on a pitch which should suit their stroke play and the short boundaries which could carry even a mishit for the maximum.
Both Yuvraj and VVS Laxman would be itching to have one more opportunity to atone for their earlier failures.
Yet the logic of playing only five specialist batsmen is difficult to gloss over especially since Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Mohammed Kaif have all hit centuries in the present series.
But India would be making a mistake if it feels the likes of Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan could fail one another time. They have considerable reputation in international circuit and odds are in their favour to hit form before long.
They are perfectly capable of showing up the inexperienced Indian bowling attack.
Lara would be chastened by his recent experience with the selectors. He was saddled with the same set of bowlers even as he went public to ask for a fast bowler of his liking.
He still is likely to favour Marlon Samuels ahead of opener Daren Ganga in the squad as the former is also a useful customer with his off-spinners.
Ganga has done little of note in the first two Tests and must face yet another axe in his already chequered career.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}