Batsmen facing pitch battles

The big story of the morning when India made their first overture in this World Cup was obviously Virender Sehwag’s cheap dismissal and India’s batting collapse. But just how pitches are likely to impact this tournament could be the next big story in the making.

India’s struggle against Bangladesh at the Queen’s Park Oval found an echo in Sabina Park where Pakistan were brought to their knees by Ireland. In both matches, there was enough help from the pitches to make the Bangladesh and Ireland bowlers look more dangerous than they are.

This does not condone the failure of the batsmen — both Indian and Pakistan — who belied their experience and stature against ‘rookies’ as it were. But there was enough evidence from both these matches that bowlers will have their say in this World Cup, Herschelle Gibbs’ six sixes in an over, and three scores of 300-plus already (by Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa) notwithstanding.

Indeed, the first week has been such a mixed bag that it is difficult to fit a pattern to the tournament. Some pitches have played so true as to make bowlers feel life was not worth living, some have shown variable pace and bounce, on some occasions the humidity has allowed greater scope to swing bowlers with the new ball.

In a sense, this is great stuff. One day cricket’s popularity is structured around batsmen hitting big blows and teams batting first making hefty scores which then have to be chased down by teams batting second. The skills of batsmen are put to test infrequently. That may not hold true in this World Cup, which means that batters will have to be more alert, more resourceful, just simply play better.

Where India were concerned, Dravid’s decision to bat first meant he had either misread the wicket, or aimed to give his batters scope to exploit all the 50 overs. The latter is more likely, but his top order messed up the gameplan.

Sehwag is clearly going through the horrors, but more pertinently, is running out of time. It’s a moot point if he will get the next game, and if he doesn’t, his chances of making it back to the side would recede dramatically.

There are millions baying for Sehwag’s head currently — and not without good reason; there are also legions supporting him, but with diminishing reason. I believed that Sehwag should play in the first phase to get his rhythm and confidence back, but I also believe that there is a sell-by date for him. Has he lived past that already?

Had Robin Uthapa used the opportunity properly, Sehwag would have been in deeper trouble. He might get another game, but not without the dressing room getting very uneasy. Tendulkar and Dravid found run scoring difficult, and fell cheaply through part-frustration-part-error of judgement. That’s too many from the top order getting dismissed ‘softly’.

It was left to Sourav Ganguly to assume generalship in the fightback, and lead India to a semblance of respectability. Has there been a more audacious, significant comeback in cricket in recent times?