This time last week, India were sitting atop the leaderboard, undefeated and looking good for a place in the finals. Successive defeats to Sri Lanka and then Australia have left Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men desperately needing to tighten up their batting act if they are not to face early elimination.
Having had all of Monday to rue their dismal effort that catapulted Australia to the title round the previous night, India’s batsmen should welcome an immediate chance to redeem themselves as they brace up for the Sri Lankan challenge at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. A third consecutive defeat will not necessarily spell the end of their campaign in mathematical terms, but it will then require them to show a determination hitherto conspicuous by its absence.
It is safe to assume, in light of information since available, that Virender Sehwag was dropped from Sunday’s game against Australia. Convinced that, on a flattish track, five bowlers was the way to go, Dhoni had to perforce leave a specialist batsman out. That he chose to omit Sehwag, supposedly not a hundred percent fit but fit enough to be a part of the catching drills before the game, was what came as a surprise.
After all, it was just over a fortnight back that, at the same venue, the opener from Delhi made a sparkling 151 in the final Test. Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar had struck up a nice tandem at the top of the one-day tree without producing a real big one this series; the experience of the former skipper, allied with his ability to come out all guns blazing, would have stood India in good stead during their abortive modest run chase, but that is the beauty of hindsight.
Baffling move
Sehwag’s omission necessitated a change to the batting order, with Gautam Gambhir — enjoying batting at number three — promoted to open and Irfan Pathan, bafflingly, given number three duties. Why not Robin Uthappa at one-drop, especially considering he was preferred to Sehwag in the eleven?
Uthappa is, though many can be excused for forgetting, a specialist opener. The profusion of opening batsmen forced then skipper Rahul Dravid to employ his fellow Bangalorean down the order, with mixed success. Sunday called out for Uthappa to bat at three so that he had time to play himself in, and yet bat with the freedom that the presence of specialist batsmen below him affords.
In the event, by the time Uthappa came out to bat at five down, India were staring down the barrel; their woes were exacerbated by Dhoni’s run out a little later, giving Uthappa no chance to guide the team home in the company of an elongated tail. India would have been better off with Pathan and Uthappa swapping places in the batting order, and while that wasn’t the sole reason for the defeat, it suggests a certain inflexibility in thinking that might stint Dhoni’s growth as a captain.
Whether Uthappa should have been chosen ahead of Sehwag is another matter altogether. It is the captain’s prerogative to pick his eleven, but having done so, he must also ensure that he maximises the resources available to give his team every chance of ending up on the winning side.
Dhoni more than hinted that India would again play full-time bowlers on Tuesday. Should he change his mind, Sehwag will come back in, most likely at S Sreesanth’s expense. Otherwise, an unchanged batting personnel will need to show a markedly changed approach if the hill ahead doesn’t mushroom into a mountain.
Frail batting
Sri Lanka will normally have fancied their chances of cashing in on the confusion, if not despondency, in the Indian ranks, but Mahela Jayawardene is aware that their own batting frailties need to be addressed. Like India’s bowlers, the Sri Lankans too have done outstandingly well despite Muttiah Muralitharan not yet hitting his straps. The batting, however, has been woefully inadequate; Kumar Sangakkara has ploughed a classy lone furrow but otherwise, the middle-order has been practically non-existent.
The two Chamaras — Silva and Kapugedera — have done as much or as little as Sanath Jayasuriya and the skipper himself, and Tillakaratne Dilshan has had just one good knock, during their eight-wicket win against India in Canberra. The lack of options among the reserves has tied Jayawardene’s hands somewhat, though in the event of an emergency, he can at least fall back on Upul Tharanga. Two teams desperately eyeing survival may not necessarily throw up a classic, but there should be no shortage of excitement on Tuesday.
Teams (from):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Virender Sehwag, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Kaarthick, Manoj Tiwary.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ishara Amerasinghe, Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul Tharanga, Dilruwan Perera, Chanaka Welegedara.
Umpires: T ony Hill (New Zealand) and Peter Parker. Third umpire: Bob Parry. Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).