Back to the wall

He may be expendable in the one-dayers, but as the first Test begins in Delhi, Rahul Dravid remains the first name on the team sheet and India’s most likely match-winner. Without the burden of captaincy, he has a chance to prove what he is still worth of

NEW DELHI: Rahul Dravid will face a stiff test of resolve at the Ferozeshah Kotla when India take on Pakistan in the first of three Tests on Thursday.

Dravid has only missed one Test since his debut and has long been considered the first name on the team sheet.

Nevertheless, the seasoned batsman now finds himself under greater pressure than at any other point of his career.

Adapting to playing under the microscope, which has in the past focussed more on fellow veterans Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, will be his greatest challenge.

This will be his first match since resigning from Test captaincy after the summer tour of England, and his high profile exclusion from the ODI squad that just beat Pakistan 3-2 has added to the drama that already colours the later part of his Test career.

Under the new command of statemate Anil Kumble, he will feel doubly under pressure to perform. Failure may see not only his own career in jeopardy, but also his teammate’s captaincy.

Neither Kumble, who leads India after Sachin Tendulkar refused the responsibility, nor Shoaib Malik, a compromise choice after the retirement of Inzamam-ul-Haq, have much experience of captaining their sides in Test cricket. Their worries have increased with a spate of injuries to key players.

Malik believes the circumstances surrounding both teams have led to a sense of equality between them. “Since Kumble will be new to the job, both teams are now equally matched in the Test series,” Malik said after his team recorded a consolation win in the
fifth ODI in Jaipur.

A former vice-captain, Kumble, who readily accepted captaincy when the selectors turned to him after Tendulkar’s refusal, is meanwhile taking the new job as a “challenge”.

Pakistan sorely felt the absence of fast bowler Mohammed Asif in the ODIs that preceded this series. India, likewise, have worries in that department, as quicks RP Singh, who has been in superb form for the last few months, and S Sreesanth have been ruled out of the Delhi contest.

While India will certainly miss the speed and aggression of Sreesanth, RP Singh has built himself a reputation as a potential match-winner. The wicket-to-wicket accuracy of fast bowler Munaf Patel, who has been summoned as replacement, will compensate to some extent for their absence.

Ishant Sharma has also been confirmed as a late call-up to the squad. The 19-year-old right-arm medium pacer has one Test wicket to his credit in the lone match he has played so far, against Bangladesh in May this year.

It was on this very ground that Kumble not only resurrected his international cricket career in an Irani Trophy match in 1992, but also made history seven years later by taking all 10 wickets in an innings against Wasim Akram’s Pakistan.

He became only the second bowler after England’s Jim Laker to have achieved that feat in Tests.

In a majorly bolstered spinning line-up, Kumble is joined in the squad by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik. Pakistan’s answer to the spinning question comes in the form of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who returns for the three Tests after missing the ODIs, from which series left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman has also been retained.

As ever in India, these tweakers are expected to play major roles in deciding the outcome of the series.

Zaheer Khan and Munaf and their Pakistani counterparts Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanveer and Mohammad Sami face a challenge to make their voices heard.

Fast bowlers have often struggled in these conditions, and this series is expected to be no different. Looking at the pitch, the batsmen will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing the pacers.

A heavyweight batting line-up featuring Tendulkar, Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni will be looking to set India on the front foot, while Pakistan will be largely dependent on Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq besides captain Shoaib Malik.

India will enjoy the home advantage, though the Delhi crowds will miss the two local boys — Virender Sehwag and the in-form Gautam Gambhir.

The curator, Radhey Shyam, is the same man who prepared the pitch on which Kumble took all 10 wickets in an innings and the venue’s best match haul of 14 wickets. But umpire AV Jayaprakash, who adjudged all the 10 dismissals on February 7, 1999, will not be there.