India: Batting under test

Match facts

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Start time 10am (local time) 0430 (GMT)

	The responsibility will fall on Gautam Gambhir to revive a struggling Indian top order

Big Picture

Since the Asia Cup final, India’s acclaimed batsmen have had to endure a dreadful ego hammering. There seems no quick solution in sight and time is certainly not at India’s disposal with just a day’s gap between the first two games. Traditionally sound players of spin, the Test and ODI specialists are still groping for answers when Ajantha Mendis comes on to bowl, and an eight-wicket drubbing at the same venue on Monday only reinforced his threat after the two defeats in the Tests.

The woeful situation is compounded by Virender Sehwag’s departure after twisting his ankle at practice. His double-century was the key to India’s victory in Galle and the two captains were only stating the obvious yesterday by stating his absence would be a big blow. That puts additional pressure on Gautam Gambhir as the man in form at the top, and it’s anybody’s guess as to who his opening partner will be. No replacement has been sought for Sehwag and questions will be raised over the omission of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have no such issues and will go in as firm favourites. The decision to play five specialist bowlers worked for them and not one bowler looked like a weak link.

Form guide (last 5 ODIs)

Sri Lanka WWLWW
India LLWLW

Watch out for:

Gautam Gambhir: His second-ball duck notwithstanding, Gambhir is India’s form batsman after Sehwag - his 310 runs was the second-highest aggregate in the Tests among batsmen of both teams. His ploy of walking down the pitch before a delivery may have an element of risk, but it only speaks of his confidence and intention of putting the bowler off his rhythm. Dhoni spoke about the importance of getting good starts, so it would fall upon Gambhir to bat responsibly without getting bogged down. With the limited resources available, Gambhir is probably India’s best bet at the moment.

Munaf Patel v Sri Lanka’s top order: The only saving grace for India on Monday was Munaf’s ability to keep Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara in check. He repeatedly got the ball to either cut back in or shape away from the off stump. In a match dominated by spinners, Munaf did the best he could in the conditions on offer, picking up the only wickets to fall in the chase.

Team news

India would be forced to re-assess their combination after the drubbing on Monday, especially at the top of the order with Sehwag’s departure. Experimenting with Virat Kohli as an opener didn’t work so it’s likely he will swap places with Irfan Pathan who has been successful in the past as a pinch-hitter. With Rohit Sharma struggling for runs, Mahendra Singh Dhoni might promote himself to No. 5.

India (likely) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Irfan Pathan, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Virat Kohli, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Munaf Patel.

After the first ODI Mahela Jayawardene said Sri Lanka would retain the winning combination.

Sri Lanka (from) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Pitch & conditions

The conditions are expected to be similar to the first one-dayer, so batting could get difficult once the spinners operate.

Stats & Trivia

Chaminda Vaas is only one wicket away from the 400-wicket club in ODIs. He will be the fourth after Wasim Akram, Muralitharan and Waqar Younis. Mahela Jayawardene has been dismissed only once by India at this ground in four matches and his average stands at an astronomical 228. Dambulla is India’s least favourite venue in Sri Lanka against the hosts, having lost all four matches to them. Since January 2007, India have tried out 11 opening combinations in 57 innings. Only two of those pairs have batted together more than six times.

- About Cricket -

Sandesh Kumar

Champions Trophy to proceed as planned earlier

Doubts lingered over the fate of the Champions Trophy with the Australian Cricketers’ Association telling its members not to travel to Pakistan even as the ICC said the tournament would proceed as planned.

While Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive was confirming in London that the tournament would stay in Pakistan, and saying it was up to the individual boards to decide on participation, Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the ACA, said he didn’t believe it was safe.

“The ACA has discussed the situation with its executive and our position is we can’t recommend to our players they should tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy,” Marsh told the Australian. “We feel for the Pakistan Cricket Board and the people of Pakistan but it is the job of the ACA to make recommendations to our members based on whether it is safe to tour. Unfortunately in this case we don’t believe it is safe.”

“We have not heard anything officially from Cricket Australia and until we do we are not in a position to make any comment,” an ICC spokesman said.

The news from Australia came shortly after Lorgat addressed a press conference in London and said safety and security in Pakistan was “satisfactory” and the tournament would proceed as planned next month.

He was speaking after a meeting with the ECB as part of the ICC task force that has been travelling around the world. On Sunday the group met with the England players and their representatives in Edinburgh and now the ECB has received a detailed briefing, following similar discussions in Australia and New Zealand led by David Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of cricket.

The ECB held a board meeting on Tuesday afternoon, at which they were expected to come to a decision on their participation in the tournament after consultation with other boards around the world

“What we have done is to very clearly outline to each of these stakeholders the plan that we have in place for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” Lorgat said. “Understandably there are safety concerns and that’s what we are engaged in and we are dealing with.

“The ECB has received a briefing from us and have gone into a board meeting. They will consider our briefing among other reports that they may have on whether they will participate or not. But that is a decision for the ECB, as far as the ICC are concerned the safety and security is satisfactory for hosting the tournament in Pakistan.”

However, while admitting that the final decision on participation lay in the hands of the ECB, Cricket Australia, New Zealand Cricket and Cricket South Africa - whom Lorgat will meet later in the week - he refused to rule out ICC sanctions for countries that didn’t take part or send weakened teams.

Recent political developments in Pakistan, with Pervez Musharraf resigning as president, continue to present an uncertain landscape, but Lorgat said that as far as the Champions Trophy is concerned nothing has changed in the last 24 hours.

The Champions Trophy is due to start on September 12 after it was pushed back a day following concerns of starting on the anniversary of 9/11. The tournament has already been reduced to a two-venue event after construction work at Rawalpindi failed to be finished on time. All the matches will now be staged in Lahore and Karachi, but the future of the entire tournament is still far from certain.

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Sandesh Kumar

Asif’s B sample tested positive

	Mohammad Asif faces a ban after his B sample taken during the IPL also tested positive for a banned substance

The B sample of Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, taken during the Indian Premier League has tested positive for nandrolone, a banned substance. Last month the IPL had revealed that Asif had tested positive in random testing conducted during the tournament. Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils, had asked for his B sample to be analysed.

Asif, who faces a possible two-year ban, and his lawyer have questioned the discrepancy in the readings of the two samples. The second sample had a nandrolone concentration of 5.4 nanograms per millilitre of urine while the first had 6.2 nanograms. According to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) regulations, upto two nanograms per millilitre is permissible.

Asif had been suspended by the PCB from all forms of the game pending the result of the IPL inquiry. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had previously told that if Asif’s B sample also tests positive, the matter will be taken up by the IPL’s drugs tribunal, comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Dr Ravi Bapat (ex-vice chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences) and lawyer Shirish Gupte. The tribunal will take a decision in accordance with the ICC’s anti-doping code, which the IPL had adopted.

Besides testing positive during the IPL, Asif is also embroiled in another mess, having been detained at Dubai airport in June for allegedly possessing drugs. He was released by authorities after 19 days in detention, but an internal inquiry by the Pakistan board had reportedly found the evidence to be “pretty conclusive” against the player, and had recommended a ban.

The fast bowler previously tested positive for nandrolone, the banned anabolic steroid, along with Shoaib Akhtar, just before the 2006 Champions Trophy in India. Though he was banned for one year by a PCB tribunal, the punishment was overturned a month later on appeal.

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Sandesh Kumar

Sehwag out for rest of ODI’s

Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the remaining four one-day internationals against Sri Lanka due to an ankle injury. He had twisted his left ankle during practice on Sunday and played no part in the first ODI at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Monday which India lost by eight wickets.

One of India’s in-form batsmen, he scored 344 runs in the Test series earlier, the highest by any batsman on either side. Along with Gautam Gambhir, he was one of the few Indian batsmen who looked assured against Sri Lanka’s spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, said the team would miss Sehwag. “He was a batsman in top form. But that’s the way it goes in cricket. You can’t really stop and think about the guys you will be missing in the series. Rather than that you will have to fill in that space. Because that is the only way your team can win.

“We may look at a different combination of openers for the next game but it’s at a very initial stage. We have just gone through the first game so whatever fits the team best we’ll decide on that,” he said.

Team manager Sanjay Desai, however, did not confirm whether a replacement would be flown to Sri Lanka.

India are already without Sachin Tendulkar, who withdrew from the ODI series after sustaining an elbow injury during the final Test in Colombo.

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Sandesh Kumar Jaggi

Indians unable to tackle Mendis

	Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the Asia Cup that Ajantha Mendis couldn’t be read. Nothing’s changed since then

The crisp, cream clothing made way for dazzling blue, but the script read much the same. Watching India clearly weighed down by the finger freak waiting in the wings, unsure about how to tackle tidy medium-pace, anxious about what could be unleashed at any moment, it was hard not to get a sense of déjà vu. The Test specialists were gone, but the one-day recruits suffered a similar fate.

India’s latest defeat against Sri Lanka wasn’t all about Ajantha Mendis, though at the rate he is picking up awards and cheques, he’s certain to be a richer man and teach Arun Lal, the post-match emcee all tour, a fair amount of Sinhalese. Mendis played a key role, but India were severely dented after Sri Lanka’s new-ball duo nipped out three early wickets.

That pair took much of the pressure off Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan. Chaminda Vaas breached Gautam Gambhir’s defence with the second ball of the match and Nuwan Kulasekera bowled very well, complementing his partner, to take two wickets. After five overs India were 9 for 1; after ten 29 for 2; after 15, 42 for 3; after the Powerplays they were reeling at 73 for 4. Therein lies the command that Sri Lanka took over the opposition. Vaas and Kulasekera choked the top order and Thilan Thushara, bowling tidy left-arm seam, maintained the pressure. It was a clinical example of attacking through partnerships.

More importantly, it was the perfect setting for Mendis to come in for the last over of the Powerplays. India were unsettled by their early losses and apprehensive about Mendis’ arrival. They were unsure about how to handle the situation, and it proved detrimental.

When Mendis did arrive, India’s batsmen looked no closer to deciphering him. His first strike hurt so deep that India failed to recover. Yuvraj Singh was beaten first ball by a slider, survived an extremely tight lbw shout, tried to dictate terms with a six over long-on, and was then utterly befuddled by a quicker one that skidded on. Too far forward, Yuvraj was left looking silly. India’s most experienced player had fallen for the dangling carrot, and the reverberations were loud.

Thereon it was much the same as in the Tests. Mendis left the rest to fumble about in the dark. Mahendra Singh Dhoni fidgeted and fussed about his crease, playing and missing until he was put out of his misery by an outside-edge that flew to slip. Runs dried up. The heat turned up. After the Asia Cup, Dhoni said Mendis just couldn’t be read at all; nothing has changed.

	India’s players have bounced between analysing footage, hoping that his aura may wear off and stressing on reading him off the pitch. What they need to understand is that for the time being Mendis is beyond understanding. Hard as it may sound, they need to take him out of the equation, stop worrying about him

Again bowling accurately and lethally, Mendis finished with 3 for 21 off nine overs, helping reduce India to 87 for 7 after which he was taken out of the attack. All Murali had to do was twirl his wrist and gobble up the lower order, even if his last over went for 14. The problem with India’s approach against Mendis was that everyone wanted to build, nobody wanted to do maintenance.

“Creativity is not like a freight train going down the tracks,” wrote Bob Dylan in his autobiography, Chronicles. “It’s something that has to be caressed and treated with a great deal of respect. If your mind is intellectually in the way, it will stop you. You’ve got to programme your brain not to think too much.”

Flip that around and you understand India’s predicament against Mendis. They’ve been bamboozled, nay awed, by Mendis’ bag of tricks since he destroyed them in Karachi. Mendis is special, no doubt about it. India’s players have bounced between analysing footage, hoping that his aura may wear off and stressing on reading him off the pitch. What they need to understand is that for the time being Mendis is beyond understanding. Hard as it may sound, they need to take him out of the equation, stop worrying about him.

Virender Sehwag didn’t think too much about Mendis in Galle and finished the match with 251 runs. There’s a possibility he may be out of the whole series, and that’s a massive worry, for in a sense India lost this match before Dhoni went out for the toss. They lost this match some time during training yesterday when Sehwag injured himself. Sehwag was India’s highest scorer in the Test series, handling Mendis with aplomb during his double hundred in Galle, and their best bet at providing a solid start.

Dhoni spoke of the added responsibility on Sehwag to pass on advice to India’s one-day recruits. In terms of his experience against Sri Lanka’s spinners and his ability to provide starts, an integral asset in cricket, Sehwag’s loss was brutal. In his last ODI he hammered an exhilarating 60 from just 35 balls, helping India storm to 76 from just nine overs.

Without their best player, India’s indecision crept in from the onset. The openers may have thought attacking Sri Lanka’s medium-pacers was the best option given their inefficiency in the Tests. That didn’t work, and they had no answer to Mendis.

Even if they do a half-baked job of something, India’s batsmen will find themselves one-eyed men in the kingdom of the blind. But at the moment they remain indecisive about picking one approach; it’s a toss-up between throwing in the towel or trying to force the pace against spin. India need to find a way to rotate singles, as well as score runs.

“Its important to learn,” said Dhoni, “because everyone makes mistakes. Unless you learn from those your own, your team’s graph won’t go up.”

There’s only a day’s gap for the second match. India’s time starts now.

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Sandesh Kumar Jaggi