Indians grapple with rotation conundrum
Will Sachin sit out today’s Aussie tie?
The triangular series caravan has reached Adelaide, and as it has been for the whole summer, India have been left to discover answers to some uncomfortable questions ahead of Sunday’s clash against Australia.
Their batsmen, the openers in particular, are yet to fire in two matches, the bowlers have been patchy, and the fielding is still to touch the desired standards. India will need to solve all this in 24 hours against an opponent who seems to have found a way to win from any circumstance.
India will also be grappling with question of whether to rest Sachin Tendulkar, still standing on the verge of his 100th international hundred, or not. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said a few days back that the team management had taken a decision to give rest to seniors on a rotation basis considering the length of the tournament, and as per the policy, both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been given time off in the first and second matches respectively.
Dhoni had also indicated that the policy was adopted to give more opportunities to Rohit Sharma, who has been waiting for his due chances since the beginning of this trip to Australia. So, it’s the turn of Tendulkar to cool his heels, but it remains to be seen if the think-tank actually goes ahead and rests him.
In that case, Gambhir, who missed the tie against Sri Lanka at the WACA, will return to the side. Beyond the rotation policy, India need to think deeply about their team composition. In the first one-dayer against Australia at the MCG, India took the field with three spinners, and the game plan backfired badly.
Bowling combination
They went with three pacers at Perth against Sri Lanka, and the plan nearly came unstuck with Praveen Kumar having an ordinary day in office. Unlike at the WACA, the Adelaide Oval pitch is flatter, and spinners might come into play here. In that context, leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who suffered a split webbing during the Melbourne one-dayer, might make a return to the squad – perhaps in the place of Praveen – should he be fit.
R Vinay Kumar left training midway through with physio Evan Speechley on Saturday, and India have the option of drafting in Umesh Yadav in case of a fitness concern for the Karnataka pacer.
India have some major thinking to do before the match starts, and amidst all this they need to maintain their mental sharpness because Dhoni’s men need to play two matches in three days, certainly a mentally and physically demanding task.
On the other hand, Australia do not have such urgent thinking to do, and they have already decided to rest senior batsman Michel Hussey for the morrow’s match. In all likelihood, Peter Forrest will make his international debut at Adelaide, and the home side also has an additional option in Mitchell Marsh.
The younger Marsh rejoined the national squad after playing two Sheffield Shield games last week at the behest of the Australian team management. Even though Sri Lanka gave them a scare at the WACA, Australia might have taken numerous positives out of Friday’s game, and the biggest of them might be the effort of Xavier Doherty.
The left-arm spinner kept the Lankan batsmen, adept at playing spin, on a tight leash and Australia will be hoping for an encore from him on the morrow. However, they have a few minor issues to sort out, and that’s the lack of runs from David Warner and Ricky Ponting, both of them have failed to contribute significantly in the last two matches.
But compared to the woes of India, those problems appear minor in nature and Australia will certainly be in a better frame of mind.
Teams (from): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav,Irfan Pathan, R Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Parthiv Patel.
Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Wade, Daniel Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, David Hussey, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh.
