Time to deliver

After the 55-run loss in the second unofficial one-day game against the West Indies ‘A’ team here on Tuesday, India ‘A’ will surely be looking at a better batting show in the third match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.

India ‘A’ scored a dominating win in the first unofficial one-day match here on Sunday. But the second match proved that a little bit of application and clever bowling strategy can win you games, even against a solid batting lineup that the hosts have with the likes of Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Unmukt Chand and others in the team. But there is no doubt about the fact that the team will once again rely heavily on Yuvraj Singh to deliver. He had scored 123 in the first match but could get only 40 in the second.

It would not be fair to attribute the loss in the second game only due to the hosts not getting enough partnerships going. The India ‘A’ team perhaps did not capitalise on the initial inroads given by R Vinay Kumar, and that too on a pitch that was aiding some lateral movement. The West Indians did that better and were smiling at the end of the day.

Another concern in the second match was that of the Indian fielding, which looked amateurish at times on Tuesday. By Yuvraj’s own admission after the match, they should have given away about 20 runs less.

However, the West Indian win is not just due to the India ‘A’ team’s shortcomings. Jonathan Carter’s superb knock of 133 showed that he was really in control.

Some of his strokes were an absolute delight to watch. If he can do it once, he could very well come up with another big one on Thursday. Or anyone else for that matter.

More importantly, it is not just the question of winning these games. Good performances here could lead to a call-up to the main team. It’s a mix of both, really.