Virendra Sehwag

It is being touted by a number of Indians, including Virender Sehwag, as a revenge game. However, MS Dhoni and his men would do well to concentrate on playing proper cricket, like they would have done if they were facing another side. Of course, the shock loss against Bangladesh still haunts the men in blue. However, in an effort to go the extra mile keeping the grudge in mind, they might find themselves in trouble again. Looking back, one must except that the Indians were highly overconfident four years back. Sehwag, himself, was one of the culprits, who woke up the Bangla tigers by reminding them of the then ensuing India’s tour of Bangladesh, when the ICC Cricket World Cup had not even begun. And, as the cliché goes, the rest is entrenched in history. While it is good for the Indians that they are more alert this time round, it shouldn’t result in them giving over importance to the game just like the entire unwanted hullabaloo around how and why India should win the cup for Sachin Tendulkar.

On paper, India are definitely the stronger of the two sides. In fact, when it comes to the batting department, they are better than most sides in the tournament. Having said that, the opening game would be played at Mirpur in Bangladesh, which will undeniably give the home side a distinct advantage. And this is where the fact that they have beaten India in the past in a Cricket World Cup game will be of great help to Bangladesh. After all, nothing beats experience when it comes to the big stage. India will need to be wary once again, but the good news for them is that with Dhoni at the helm of affairs, the current squad, with all due respect to Rahul Dravid, looks a lot more settled and balanced than the wearing bunch of 2007.

Key contests

Sehwag vs Bangladesh opening bowlers

This contest could go a long way in deciding the fate of the match. Back in 2007, Sehwag failed to give India the much needed brisk start. Also, there was no Gautam Gambhir around to steady the innings and the rest just capitulated under pressure. Sehwag is very much aware of the added responsibility this time around. And with Gambhir and, of course, Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the order, he can go all out in an effort to decimate the Bangladeshis at home. If he comes of well enough the so-called revenge will automatically take shape. And even if he fails, India have enough firepower to fight back. However, it is a fact that a Sewhag special always tilts the scales in India’s favour. And so, the team management would do well to not cloud his thoughts with too many things and let his mind be free of the worries of losing his wicket. If Sehwag cuts loose and the Bangladeshis do not have a backup plan, they would be in serious trouble.

Indian middle order vs Bangla spinners

If India get off to a smashing start, then they have the wherewithal to pile on the agony for Bangladesh in the middle overs. And, even if they lose early wickets, there is enough depth in their batting to aid them overcome a poor start. Still the contest between the Indian middle order and the spinners of the home team promises to be an intriguing one. This is because at home, the Bangladeshi tweakers are equally effective as any other in the world. When the conditions are in their favour, they can be ruthless. Remember, on a sluggish pitch in the Caribbean four years ago, they strangled even the strong South African side. And hence, India need to tread this path carefully. In Abdur Razzak and skipper Shakib Al Hasan, they have two genuinely good, wicket-taking spinners. And with the home support to back them, they could be doubly dangerous. This is where Yuvraj Singh’s role could be particularly crucial. He isn’t having the best of times and neither is he the best player of spin. But, he is experienced enough now to get his act right on the big stage. Virat Kohli, who is expected to make the final eleven ahead of Suresh Raina, is another vital cog for India in the middle-overs. He has the dual ability to rotate the striking freely with lightning running between the wickets and also pierce the gap on crucial occasions. And thus, Kohli’s success or failure could end up having a major impact on the eventual result.

Slog success

Ideally, India would want Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan out in the middle during this stage of the innings, the latter more so. Not only is Pathan in form, but he is also high on confidence following the success in South Africa, which no one believed he could achieve, at least to the extent he did. And with Dhoni too showing his true colours during the practice game against Kiwis, it would be a genuine treat to watch them together, purely as a great cricketing experience, irrespective of the team one is supporting. Again, this could be a highly defining phase of the game.

Indian opening bowlers vs Bangla openers

This is where India lost it four years ago, and this is where they could get into trouble again. Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar struggled in 2007 and let the Bangla openers get off to a flying start, which eventually sealed the fate for India. While Zaheer has matured since, the same cannot be said about his current bowling partners. S. Sreesanth can blow hot or cold depending upon his mood while Ashish Nehra has the tendency to come up with a shocking bowling performance every now and then. This will be India’s major not only in the opening game but for the remainder of the tournament as well. However, it will be important to start well and thus the Mirpur game assumes greater significance.

Clearly, the contest that will most probably decide the match.

Sachin Tendulkar

Australia will hold most of the aces going into the final day’s play at Mohali. Having claimed four of the top Indian wickets cheaply late of the fourth day, after themselves being dismissed for a disappointing 192, the visitors would feel elated. All they have to do now is somehow get through Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and an unfit VVS Laxman to get the 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. And they have Ben Hilfenhaus to thank for for putting them in such a commanding position.

He may have been extremely lucky to get the wicket of Gautam Gambhir, who was adjudged lbw despite hitting the ball. However, the short-pitched deliveries directed at first innings Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina were perfectly well planned. The bounce the bulky paceman generated caught the Indians off-guard and undid all the good work done by their bowlers earlier in the day. After his disappointing effort in the first essay, it was a strong comeback by Hilfenhaus, one that will give him a lot of confidence for bigger battles ahead.

As things stand, Tendulkar holds the key to India’s hopes. However, on a fifth day pitch, even the best can struggle. It remains to be seen whether the maestro can pass yet another stern test. Of course, he can’t be expected to see the team home alone. Skipper Dhoni’s contribution would be crucial, more than ever, since India’s ‘rescue specialist’ is fighting a battle of a different kind. Like in the first innings Laxman will definitely give batting a short. But one can’t expect him to do a Colombo encore time and again. If he does, it will be nothing short of a herculean effort. Thinking practically though, the home team will need Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh to chip in and ease the pressure somewhat on Sachin, Dhoni and Laxman.

Whatever the result of the game, Australia need to be credited for fighting back from difficult positions time and again, and, in fact, should be considered favourites from hereon. In India’s first innings, things looked down and out for Australia when Raina and Tendulkar were carving their attack with minimal discomfort. However, once they got an opening courtesy Marcus North’s surprise dismissal of Sachin, they capitalised on it wonderfully, so much so that they ended up getting the first innings lead despite the fact that the Indian batting had dominated almost the whole day.

MS Dhoni

India, on the other hand, must look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether they got complacent. An honest assessment would be yes. Both Sachin and Raina played across the line whilst approaching the tons and Zaheer Khan batted like he possessed a million runs under his belt. The rest, including Dhoni and Harbhajan, were undone by some excellent bowling by Mitchell Johnson, and India’s hopes of batting out the Aussies were gone. To their credit, the Indian bowlers also hit back strongly. Ishant’s triple strike after Australia looked like running away with the game set the match up nicely. Soon the spinners got into their own as Australia crumbled a la 2001. Of course, Harbhajan did not single-handedly run through the batting order, as Pragyan Ojha and Zaheer provided ample support. Still, the result was exactly what the sparse Mohali crowd desired.

The same cannot be said about the Indian batting effort, however. Gambhir may consider himself unlucky at having got a tough decision. But every time such an occurrence takes place, they will be reminded by all and sundry about the refusal to use the UDRS. And so, the Indians should neither expect sympathy nor do they have the right to feel hard done by. Also, the opposition team also got a shocker when Micheal Hussey was adjudged lbw to Harbhajan despite the ball pitching way outside the leg. So things had evened up by the end of the day.

Nothing would be level by the time the game finishes though. We are sure to have one winner and a loser, quite a drastic development considering a draw seemed to looming large after the first three days. But then again, that’s the beauty of Test cricket. And the final twist is yet to come.

Subramaniam Badinath

Subramaniam Badinath came up with another brilliant performance as the Indian Premier League champions, the Chennai Super Kings went on to trounce the Champions from New Zealand by a mammoth 57 runs in what was the 3rd match of the tournament.

Having won the toss earlier in the day, MS Dhoni predictably chose to bat once again. Both captains seemed to have got what they wanted with Dhoni wanting to bat and How to bowl. The pitch looked a typical early season Durban wicket with a tinge of green on it and batsman having to be weary of the immediate new ball. The Chennai Super Kings went in with a similar team that one them the IPL earlier this year while the Central Stags were forced to do without the services of Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram.

Having said this, the Stags had the super kings on the mat early on in the match as the Super kings who decided to pick Hayden over hussey lost the former in the first over itself as hayden top edged a short delivery of Michael Mayson only to be caught at deep square leg. The Super kings were in trouble straight away as the wicket of Hayden was followed by that of Raina who fell to another ball and managed to fend it away to the waiting slip cordon.

Badrinath and Vijay managed to string a small partnership together before the latter flayed at one outside the off stump and was caught at slip. Dhoni threw in another surprise where he promoted Anirudh Srikkanth, son of former Indian opener K Srikkanth ahead of himself. Fortunately for the Super Kings the duo played sensible cricket aided by the bowling from the Stags as the total raced to 113 where Srikkanth was dismissed for an impressive 42 coming of just 29 deliveries. Local boy, Albie Morkel was promoted ahead of MS Dhoni once again and Morkel did not disappoint.

Morkel with his short cameo (26 of 15 balls) helped provide the impetus to the Super kings total thus aiding them get to a respectable total of 151 on a fast and seaming deck with the pitch offering some spungy bounce.

The bowling from the stags looked impressive early on in the piece but as the innings wore on the zip seamed to deteriorate. One could argue whether their choice of 4 seamers was the right one with a pitch offering some spungy bounce. Having said this, at the first look it looked a very green wicket.

Given a choice at the beginning of the match the Stags would have fancied themselves to get to a target of 152. However, that was not to be as the Stags were bundled out for a paltry 94.

Nothing seemed to be going right for the stags. There’s nothing much to comment on about their batting. A lack lustre display to say the least. However, a lot to talk about the bowling of the Super king bowlers. They were spot on, Bollinger up front was supported brilliantly by Albie Morkel who seems to have tinkered a wee bit with his action after inconsistent bowling displays early in his career. Dhoni keeping in mind the conditions refrained from using R Ashwin to open the bowling, something he did quite regularly in the IPL. The other off spinner, the legend, dint seem to look as if he was out of the game for a bit. Murali just went about work candidly, “going through the motions is what they would say” returning brilliant figures of 2 for 15 in his quota of 4 overs.

Laxmipathy Balaji was brilliant as he got seam movement of the wicket more than anything else and bagged another 3 for improving his Twenty 20 record all the time.

The problem with the Central districts is, the resources. As much as they would want to there’s not much that they can do with their team line up. The Super Kings played like champions, in a very professional manner and are huge threat to the opponents. A formidable side, loaded with former international greats and potential ones in the future.

The Central Districts have another huge match coming up, something that could decide how they go in the competition. They play the favourites of the tournament, the Victorian Bushrangers (Champions from the KFC BIG BASH Down under) in 3 days time and have a lot of work to do. The super kings on the other hand will be licking their fingers in anticipation as they go head to head with Wayamba. A loss for Wayamba and they could well be on their way out.

Lots to look forward to in the coming week. Another exciting week of sports.

Sri Lanka India

Yet another final, yet another defeat. The surprise victory in the Asia Cup final notwithstanding, the Indians continue to struggle at the final hurdle. As if this perennial problem wasn’t enough, the woes of Team India were compounded in the series courtesy yet another below par performance by the youngsters. With just over five months to go for international cricket’s most prized competition, India have plenty on their plate to ponder upon. Crucially, the decisions taken in the aftermath of the Dambulla loss should not be in haste, and must adhere to sound cricketing logic.

I am saying this because the easiest scapegoat could be, and perhaps will be, Dinesh Karthik. When Gautam Gambhir returns to the team, he might not be needed. However, it will be unfair to discard him solely on the basis of his disappointing scores in the recently concluded tri-series. It must be taken into consideration that he is primarily a middle-order player and was opening only to fill in for his more illustrious team-mate. He even recorded a match-winning score in the Asia Cup final. However, when it conditions got tougher for batting, his technique was found out.

A utility player like Karthik, and a complete team man, deserves a fair chance to prove that he is good enough to represent India consistently at the international level. And for that, he needs to be played in the lower-middle order. The question then arises is can be afford seven batsmen. Well, the problem should all but solve itself owing to Ravindra Jadeja’s uninspiring efforts with the bat. It isn’t great news for India that they can’t find an all-rounder a la Angelo Mathews. However, that’s the truth and they need to make do with it. And unless they want to give Yusuf Pathan another go – which would be worth a try — it wouldn’t be illogical to slot Karthik in at number seven. He could even keep wickets and relieve some pressure off captain MS Dhoni’s back.

Even as the Karthik dilemma needs to be solved in right earnest, India need to look beyond Rohit Sharma and possibly even Virat Kohli for occupancy in the middle-order slots. Both started off in international cricket in highly promising fashion, but haven’t shown the consistency to be trusted upon, unlike Suresh Raina, who too took his time to blossom, and is now one of the backbones of this Indian side. Also, some of the shots the two played in the tournaments were shocking, and they could be axed for that purpose itself. Of course, Raina too had an unsatisfactory. But, it has to be taken into account that his debut Test series must have taken a toll on him.

Considering the uncertainty in the middle-order, it would be logical to give the veteran Rahul Dravid one final go. He did pretty well when recalled for the Champions Trophy in the absence of Virender Sehwag, only to be dropped for reasons best known to selectors. The argument here could be that the great man had a torrid time in Lanka. However, knowing Dravid the cricketer, it shouldn’t be long before he has sorted out his batting flaws, unless his powers are on the wage.

The brightest spot for India from the ODI series in Lanka was performance of Virender Sehwag. Had he not been tragically run-out in the finals, who knows what might have transpired, considering the murderous form he was in. Anyways, let bygones be bygones. What Sehwag needs now is some stern support from the other end. The return of Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar should help, but having their names on the scorecard alone won’t transform into runs. Everyone needs to battle it out in the middle.

Call it a surprise or what you might, the bowling that was expected to be India’s Achilles Heel turned out to be rather reasonable, although they would have liked to do better in the finals. Praveen Kumar, especially, was below par in the summit clash. He is one of those curious cases for India. When the ball moves around, he is lethal even at his pace. But when he delivers the same stuff on an unresponsive, he is easy meat for the opposition batsmen. As such, while it will be a good idea for India to have him around, he shouldn’t be a certainly for all games, considering the flaw in his game. The other three pace bowlers were impressive at various phases in the tournament. However, they have far from achieved their desired consistency.

All of this means Dhoni faces his toughest test as captain in the months building up to the World Cup.

Ms Dhoni

Okay, for a change we aren’t discussing about an India-Sri Lanka game in the Emerald nation. Still, the India-New Zealand clash on Wednesday will be a highly significant affair in the context of the ongoing tri-series. As aptly pointed out by Indian skipper MS Dhoni, the game will be a virtual semi-final, with the winner joining the home team in the finals. Interestingly, both teams have had similar fortunes thus far, with a win one day and a disappointing loss on the next occasion. This is what makes the tussle between the two sides intriguing and very well-matched. Whichever team can leave their worst form back in the pavilion will benefit the most from the clash.

Starting with India, they entered the tournament with massive bowling worries. However, scores of 88 and 104 have meant that their batting deficiencies have also been seriously exposed. The problem begins right at the top, with Dinesh Karthik being unable to fit into the shoes of Gautam Gambhir. As a result, Virender Sehwag’s task has become doubly difficult. And while he has succeeded in helping India clinch one win, it is crucial from India’s point of view for him to find some support.

The non-performing youngsters are proving to be another bane in India’s build up to the World Cup. While Rohit Sharma has been a little unlucky with some close lbw shouts, the reality is that he still hasn’t ironed out the flaws in his game. And when you consider that he has been around the international circuit for a good four years now, it is a danger signal. His dismissals in the last two games have been as good as carbon copies.

For a while Virat Kohli looked settled at the number three slot. However, with Sachin Tendulkar shuttling in and out of the ODI team at his own will, Kohli has had to move up and down the order. And if his recent string of scores is taken into consideration, it hasn’t helped his cause at all. He might get one more chance to prove his worth again in place of, maybe, either Karthik or Sharma. It remains to be seen how he reacts if such an opportunity comes his way on Wednesday. A note on Ravindra Jadeja is essential too. While his bowling has been decent for a while, except the T20 World Cup, his batting skills haven’t come to the fore. And so, India need to decide very quickly whether they want him in the scheme of things for the 2011 World Cup.

Bizarre as it may sound, India’s bowling looks stronger in comparison. That, however, epitomizes the team’s batting debacles more than anything else. Still, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra have done reasonably well in the series. And when the ball moves around, as it has been doing in Lanka, they aren’t the worst trio. Thankfully for the Indians, Pragyan Ojha has stepped up his game, as a result of which India haven’t missed Harbhajan Singh much. And anyways, the Punjab off-spinner wasn’t having a great time with the ball himself.

Shifting focus to the Kiwis, they have their own concerns. The inexperienced batting line-up was found out against Sri Lanka. Also, it hasn’t helped that their last game against the home team was washed out. Considering the leisurely schedule of the tournament, (the players wouldn’t be complaining) the wash out means the Kiwis haven’t batted out in the middle for well over a week. India would be hoping to take advantage of the rustiness, if any has crept in. Further, their batting looks brittle if ones takes away Scott Styris and Ross Taylor. Things seem worse when you add the fact that Jacom Oram is back on the ‘I am injured’ list, even though Martin Guptill’s expected comeback should cheer up the Kiwi camp.

Like India, their bowling too wears a stronger look in the presence of Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills, with the experienced Styris for support. India will need to be wary of the opening bowlers as the new ball has been doing plenty in the initial stages, and the batsmen have been guilty of not applying themselves. The pitch, once again, will play a crucial role. With the rain around, some movement has to be expected both at the start of the game as well as under lights.

Dhoni’s luck at the toss may have changed in the previous game, but he wouldn’t mind retaining the losing streak if the team continues to win. On a more serious note, winning or losing the toss notwithstanding, application should be the keyword for both sides.

As such, the loss has to be attributed to some poor batsmanship, and possibly a sense of complacency. In stark contrast, Chennai recovered from a precarious 55 for 3 to post a challenging score of 164. MS Dhoni (66*) and Subramanian Badrinath (43*) combined brilliantly, blending caution and aggression in the right proportions, to see to it that the bowlers had a reasonable total to defend.

Chennai had some good fortune early on with the ball as a fierce hit from the in-form Brad Hodge (0) landed straight into the hands of R. Ashwin in the very first over of the innings bowled by Albie Morkel. And from thereon, Chennai made sure that they capitalized on the great start.

They were aided to quite an extent by the Kolkata batsmen, who played some atrocious slogs in between some flourishing strokes. A case in point was Manoj Tiwari (8), who hit a couple of spanking boundaries only to throw it away, playing across the line. Wriddhiman Saha’s exit was no different. He raced to 22, which included five wonderfully timed boundaries before he fell prey to some smart captaincy by Dhoni. The Indian skipper left the field open on the on side, and looking to play across the line, Saha was cleaned up by Laxmipathy Balaji.

At 34 for 3, Kolkata were in a similar position to Chennai earlier in the innings. But, instead of looking to rebuild, they continued to go for the big shots and perished one after the other. To be fair to Owais Shah, he got a good outgoing delivery from Balaji and couldn’t do much better than edging it behind the wickets while on 5. However, the rest, including skipper Sourav Ganguly (11 from 20 balls) succumbed to the pressure and the game sadly meandered to a one-sided result.

Due credit needs to be given to all the Chennai bowlers for sticking to their guns. Balaji (2/9) was highly impressive at the top while Justin Kemp (3/12) picked up crucial wickets in the middle overs.

The win though wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Dhoni and Badrinath. The duo joined forces when Chennai were struggling and the Kolkata bowlers were in complete control of the situation. Ishant Sharma had knocked over Matthew Hayden for 1. Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina also fell after getting starts. But, Dhoni came up with the special act expected of him.

After playing himself in, he unleashed an array of lofted, bottom hand strokes that spoiled the figures of Shane Bond, who was sensational at the start, as well as Ishant and Laxmi Shukla. Murali Kartik was the only one who escaped without punishment. At the other end, Badrinath too joined in the act with a mighty six towards the end.

On another day, 164 might not have been enough. But, considering that Kolkata were committed to falter, it proved to be more than handy.

And the second Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens was no exception. India had been humiliated at home in the first Test, a rarity in itself, and two of their main batters weren’t fit for the Kolkata challenge. There was extreme pressure on Harbhajan Singh, in particular, to perform following the team’s miserable bowling effort at Nagpur.

Add to it, there was hardly a few days’ gap between the two Tests and there was plenty of pitch talk, pertaining to the grass on the wicket. Yet, when the moment arrived, Team India stood up to be counted.

The South Africans, who were ruthless in the opening Test, floundered with their batting after winning the toss, and it was just the window of opportunity India needed to comeback into the game.

Zaheer Khan, who unfortunately could not bowl much in the second essay, was brilliant in the first innings and set up the game nicely for India. He has had the knack of grabbing the big fishes, and did exactly that at the Eden Gardens.

For the other experienced bowler Harbhajan, it was almost like a do-or-die game. He hadn’t performed well in the recent past and was severely criticized in the media, some of it was fair and some rather derogatory.

But, the offie took things in this stride and answered the critics in the only way a cricketer can. He must thank his stars that he was playing at Eden Gardens, without doubt his favourite ground. Once he got a wicket, he was a different bowler altogether.

The manner in which he foxed Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy on the final morning reminded one of the carnage the Aussies were subjected to by the Turbanator at the same ground 9 years ago. Of course, he has lost a lot of the zip he possessed in those days, but if he can come up with more such performances, there is no reason why he still can’t remain India’s number one spinner.

Harbhajan’s lack of success has been attributed to the absence of Anil Kumble, who retired two seasons. While that’s a pretty fair assessment, the good news for him is that Amit Mishra proved he can be quite a potent weapon.

I am in no way comparing Mishra to the legendary leg spinner, but the delivery with which he took out Jacques Kallis was hint enough to suggest that he could be the next special thing in Indian cricket. That’s still a long way away though. For starters, he needs to maintain consistency over a reasonable period of time, and provide the requisite support to Harbhajan.

And while it wasn’t surprising that India put up an exceptional batting performance, they still need to be credited for it. After Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar played their part, India still could have been in trouble.

But, VVS Laxman demonstrated why he was so sorely missed at Nagpur. It was his and Dhoni’s ton that buried the Proteas. And though Hashim Alma and the tail kept India at bay till the closing moments, the magic of Eden had the final say.

Cricket may be a team game, but it is important that each and every individual takes up certain responsibility and tries to fulfil it to the hilt, especially in such crunch games. Starting with the openers, Virender Sehwag can play only one way and should continue doing so, but his partner Gautam Gambhir could look at adopting a slightly cautious in case Sehwag is doing well. To be fair to Gambhir, he has been doing an excellent job and was plain unlucky to be dismissed in the finals, but then things could have been different had he decided to take his time and not attempted strokes from the word go.

Virat Kohli had a great series, but unfortunately failed on the D-day. While one can’t be too harsh on him as he is still relatively inexperienced, his shot selection was rather disappointing for a man in prime form. Kohli needs to realize that such purple patches don’t come in your career often and hence you must make the best use of it. The plus point in Kohli’s favour is that he has proved to be a quick learner – the transformation from scoring 30s and 40s to hundreds has been rather swift. He now just needs to carry on the good work.

Like Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni’s shot selection was also questionable. But then that’s the flip side of being aggressive. When it doesn’t work, it ends up looking rather ugly. India would dearly hope the experienced duo can get their act together in future finals. That is because if they fire, there is very little chance of India losing, such will be the brutality of their attack. In short, the Indian batters need to work out a proper mechanism when it comes to competing in finals.

To be brutally honest, the situation is equally bad in the bowling department, if not worse. And a lot of it has to be attributed to the non-stop cricket the Indians have been playing (for some weird reason, mostly against Sri Lanka) as well as the power play restrictions. Zaheer Khan has clearly lost the edge he held over batsmen over six months back and his partner Ashish Nehra’s fitness concerns have comeback to haunt him again. To lose Nehra in a final was a big setback for India and vindicates the selectors’ stance to keep him away from the Test squad. Harbhajan Singh continues to bamboozle us all and this has been haunting India for a dangerously long time. Time for some soul searching, boys.

Sadly, the toss has been a hugely influential factor in the series. And even the half-an-hour early start hasn’t it made much difference. In all the games, the team batting first has won and unless the trend changes, this tournament will end up being quite a farcical one. Having said that, Sri Lanka might try the experiment of bowling with the wet ball given a chance considering they are already through to the final. Ironically, it would also present India with their best chance of handing Lanka their first defeat of the tournament and securing their berth for the finals.

Whether they bat or bowl first, the fact remains that India’s bowling needs to show marked improvements. Zaheer Khan has been India’s bowling spearhead for a while now, but he certainly hasn’t been at his best since the start of the series against Lanka in India. Probably, he needs a break to recharge his batteries. It’s the opposite case with Ashish Nehra. Having made a strong comeback into the side and cementing has place as the second seamer, Nehra now has to prove his consistency. To be fair to the left-arm seamer, he hasn’t had the best of conditions to bowl. Still, a cricketer with his experience will be expected to do better. Harbhajan Singh’s inconsistency in recent times has been baffling, and a real cause for worry. One can’t predict what he will dish out on Sunday so better wait and watch.

Speaking of India’s batters, Kohli, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have been among the runs while Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina too have made useful contributions. One the one hand, India would want these men to continue firing and on the other hand will hope for the openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to explode in the manner we all know they can. That would solve a few problems for India.

Sri Lanka too would want their good batting form to continue. They would be boosted by the return of Tillakaratne Dilshan. Even in his absence, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene came up with the goods (read centuries), which is a great sign for the side. Their bowling effort has been commendable as well with Chanaka Welegedara being especially potent while spinner Suraj Randiv is improving with every game.
With two well-matched sides, one can only hope and pray that the toss doesn’t end up hampering either team once again.

Let’s not be unfair to India though. Considering that they won at Cuttack in an extremely handsome fashion, the home side will start as favourites even in the absence of Dhoni and Yuvraj. In Virender Sehwag, they have a positive stand-in skipper and a batsman whose credentials do not need to be discussed. It will help that he has been in great form. Additionally, Sachin Tendulkar too has played with a lot of comfort. His knock at Cuttack should given the side further assurance that they can afford a somewhat brittle middle-order. While Sehwag and Tendulkar have been among the runs, the same cannot be said around Gautam Gambhir. And so India would be hoping that the southpaw has a big one reserved for Kolkata.

Coming back to the middle-order, this game will be a great opportunity for the youngsters to stand up and show what stuff they are made of. Suresh Raina will get an opportunity to bat up the order, and it’s about time he starts converting his 30s and 40s into big scores. Ditto with Virat Kohli. In his short stint at the international level, it has been observed that Kohli loses focus after getting a good start and looking well set for a big score. Here’s a chance for him to set the record straight. Among the others, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja would be expected to chip in if needed.

As has been the case throughout the series, the Indian bowling and fielding, in particular, will be under the scanner. The pacemen continued to struggle in the third ODI and it was only due to the efforts of the spinners that India could make a superb comeback. While it is good news that the Eden Gardens pitch will offer assistance to the slow bowlers in the latter half of the innings, the fast bowlers will have to put up a better show else the efficiency of the spinners will automatically be reduced.

One should also be careful of not putting excessive pressure on Jadeja, the bowler. While it is true that he bowled excellently in the last game, it is also a fact that he’s more of a part-time spinner and won’t be as successful consistently. That responsibility is still to be shouldered by Harbhajan Singh. If Jadeja manages to get through his quota of overs without being overtly expensive and picks up the odd wicket, he will have done his bit. And if India succeeds in wrapping up the series at Kolkata, the team too would have done its job well.