Rahul Dravid and his men cannot afford to forget India have won only three Tests and one series in 53 years of touring the Caribbean.
ST. KITTS: India approach the 3rd Test of the current series as unmistakable favourites. At the same time, it would be a folly to be complacent because of West Indian cricketers and their Board being once again at loggerheads over contracts. Rahul Dravid and his men cannot afford to forget India have won only three Tests and one series in 53 years of touring the Caribbean; they desperately need to correct this for the sake of Indian cricket’s credibility.
It is a historic event for this tiny, twin island state of St. Kitts and Nevis as it hosts its first ever Test, having had the opportunity of staging its maiden one-day international between the same teams last month.
It being officially the rainy season in this part of the world from the beginning of June, it would be a miracle if the match escaped without some scattered showers.
As for the wicket, no first-class match has ever been played on the square. It is, therefore, anybody’s guess as to how the selected strip will comport over a five-day period.
Superficially, there’s likely to be an even layer of grass on it, mostly wheatish, but some green. This should assist seamers, at least on the first morning. On the other hand, water was sprinkled on it on Tuesday evening — for fear of the cracks on the surface opening up too soon — according to the head groundsman, Stedroy Douglas. He anticipates the wicket will turn appreciably on the last two days.
If Douglas’ guess is a guide, India should seriously consider playing a specialist spinner, in addition to Anil Kumble. If anything, Virender Sehwag’s success with the ball has proved West Indies, where there has been no quality spinner since Lance Gibbs or for over 35 years, are inexperienced against the slower stuff.
Even if Brian Lara wins the toss, with no specialist spinner retained in the West Indian squad, it would be logical of him to insert India. This would pave the way for exploitation of a fourth innings wicket by the Indian spinners. They failed to do so at Antigua largely because the wicket rolled out into a batting paradise and at St. Lucia because of the loss of nearly one and one-third day’s play. In either case, though, an extra spinner and greater aggression from Dravid from an earlier stage could have clinched the issue.
The hard reality is, India’s dominance in the first two Tests notwithstanding, the series is still 0-0. Consequently, omitting a batsman would be a risky pursuit, particularly since Mahendra Singh Dhoni is yet to win his spurs in seaming conditions and Irfan Pathan’s credentials as a batsman are yet to be established outside the sub-continent.
As for VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh, one should not demur to choose both. The latter, though, needs to appreciate that in the Caribbean it’s by and large hazardous to drive on the up. You either meet the ball on the half volley or cut or pull, if it’s short.
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