Bhajji comes a cropper

The Indian pacemen have lacked in confidence and that has exemplified skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s worries. The below-par performance of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will only leave the team with more questions after the game against Australia.

Harbhajan took a single wicket during the game against Pakistan, that of Shoaib Malik. It didn’t count for much as Malik had already scored a century and batted Pakistan out of a spot. Against arch-rivals Pakistan, Harbhajan was ordinary. Against Australia, he went wicketless.

The fast bowlers haven’t hunted as a team and with Harbhajan not at his best, the Indian think tank had to add a fifth bowler to the line-up. The presence of Amit Mishra didn’t seem to have boosted Harbhajan’s confidence.

Ricky Ponting, Tim Paine and Michael Hussey didn’t have any trouble playing the offie. The wickets at Centurion have been on the slower side and Harbhajan should have reveled in the conditions.

The Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi extracted turn and bounce and took wickets on the same pitch on which Harbhajan struggled on Saturday. Harbhajan was predictable against Pakistan. India are playing with limited resources.

They don’t have Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj used to be a key bowler in the middle-overs and, along with Sehwag, could be trusted to see through the quota of the fifth bowler and also take wickets.

Without the part-timers, India are struggling to get a grip on the game during the middle overs.