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India tour of Australia, 2007-08
Plenty for India to ponder
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Canberra
January 12, 2008
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With Wasim Jaffer failing to click in four innings India, down 0-2, may punt on Virender Sehwag in Perth
© AFP
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The Indians came into this warm-up game expecting a few solutions for their batting problems but will leave with a few riddles still unsolved. The final combination will obviously depend on the conditions in Perth but there's already plenty to ponder over a jigsaw that hasn't looked right. Here's what Canberra did for the stocks of those in contention.
Sliding down
One thing is almost certain: Yuvraj Singh's sixth successive failure has all but ruled him out of the game. He's looked out of sorts on this tour and the inability to take advantage of a second-string attack in Canberra could have sealed his fate. Twenty eight runs in seven successive innings doesn't a Test batsman make. He was at the receiving end of a sensational catch today but one mustn't forget that the ball was a full toss, one that could have been hit anywhere in the park.
A tough one to gauge
The other question surrounds Wasim Jaffer. He made a few runs in this game but never looked in the assured form that allowed him to pile on 838 runs in the calendar year last year. He's been Brett Lee's bunny so far, unable to handle the movement at high pace and struggling with his feet rooted to the crease. Will the Indians feel confident enough to send him first up at the WACA? Two poor Tests don't deserve an axing but it's definitely a question to ponder with the series at 0-2.
On the rise
So who are the replacement options? Virender Sehwag biffed the ball confidently, hammering a century against a largely insipid attack. He must have gained some confidence by spending time in the middle, though the bowling and the pitch was nothing like what he would encounter in Perth. Yet, compulsive slashers off the back foot (like Lou Vincent in 2001) have come off at the WACA and it would no doubt be tempting to throw him into the deep end. He can succeed or fail spectacularly. With the series standing at 0-2, it might be worth the punt.
The other option, a more conservative one, would be to pick Dinesh Karthik. He's got some confidence going with a 97 in this match and would be a good asset on the field. Like Sehwag he can bat anywhere in the order. It's a move that might have worked at the start of the series but would India want to play so safe at such a juncture?
Permutation problems
You would want a batsman as technically adept as Rahul Dravid to bat in the top three and you wouldn't really want to fiddle around with VVS Laxman's No. 3 position, especially after his initiative-seizing hundred in Sydney. Would you leave out Jaffer for Sehwag at the top? Would you replace Sehwag with Yuvraj below? Would you exclude both Jaffer and Yuvraj to bring in Sehwag and Karthik?
The bowling conundrum
Neither of the fast-bowling Singhs - Pankaj and VRV - made much of an impact here and the front runner for the third seamer slot is currently Irfan Pathan. He generated some swing on the second morning, enough for Chris Rogers, a Perth local, to gush about him. "Pathan bowled particularly well and swung the ball," he said after his half-century yesterday, "and with the Fremantle Doctor [the wind in Perth] he'll be a huge threat." Pathan could also come into the reckoning because of his batting. As things stand, he inspires more confidence than Yuvraj and could be an important addition in the lower order, considering the low-scoring nature of the
games at the WACA.
Spin talk
Anil Kumble has said he would like to play his best bowlers but added things could change depending on the conditions. Rogers doesn't think there will be much spin but added that a "bowler like Kumble" could be a threat with his bounce. Harbhajan Singh relies on a bit of bounce too but will India risk playing two spinners on a track where Australia are thinking of none? And if they do, will they prefer playing three seamers and two spinners? So many questions, just three days to answer them.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo
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