The centre of attraction has literally reached the mid-point of the country. And some 16 km away from that Zero Point (considered the centre point of India), things seem to be reaching the boiling point as India take on Sri Lanka in the first of the two T20 Internationals at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) stadium.
Winning a Test series 2-0 and climbing up the ladder in the ICC Test rankings do not necessarily mean that India are the favourites in the shortest format of the game too. More so, because the team entirely has a different look studded with players of magnificent mindsets.
A few players, who had gone into oblivion in the last three weeks, will be in the thick of action and will replace the masters of the five-day format here on Wednesday. The Rohit Sharmas, Yusuf Pathans and Suresh Rainas are the men who make their presence felt in T20s. Coming fresh from the Ranji Trophy grind, they look to play the pivotal role in T20s as well as in the five ODIs to follow. On a wicket that promises more than 200 runs on Wednesday, this match is expected to be bang-bang affair from the word go. As Dhoni says, “It’s a different format and the approach should also be different.”
Adapting to the format, as they say, will be difficult, but ‘not’ if we go by Dhoni. “It won’t be difficult after shifting to the T20 format from the Tests as the boys know how to go about it,” was the Indian skipper’s answer to a query. But he admitted that bowlers will need to do subtle changes to suit the style.
But on the eve of the match, the Indians got a jolt. S Sreesanth has fallen ill and is a doubtful starter for the contest. “The physio told me that he is not well, I suppose it may be diarrhoea or something,” Dhoni said. Team sources reveal that he is down with fever.
If Sreesanth were to miss the game, India have two options. They may play rookie Sudeep Tyagi or they may opt to go in with four bowlers — Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha and Yusuf Pathan — instead of five. The rest four overs then may have to be shared by Sehwag, Yuvraj, Raina and Sharma.
According to the norm, spinners play crucial role in the middle overs in T20 and there India could badly miss an experienced spinner like Harbhajan Singh (rested). Pragyan Ojha, who has an experience of only three T20 International games, will have to lead the spin attack.
The fact that India have never lost a match in this new stadium may please the fans but on the other hand, India have lost their last three T20 matches they played. For the Sri Lankans, they are also coming into the match with four losses in their kitty in recent times.
Sri Lankans, though, are also boosted by the return of specialists, they may be bogged down by Murali’s bruised ligament, which may rule him out of the entire T20 series. But it’s needless to say that Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando will add muscle to the Lankan team. Sangakkara heaped praise on Jayasuriya. “He has handled the good attacks over the years and won us matches in high-pressure games and I hope to see the same from him,” Sangakkara said. On Mahela Jayawardene, the skipper rated him among the five best T20 players in the world along with T Dilshan.
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