Short, Shorter, Shortest !!!

That is exactly what Indian batsman had to deal most of the time in the fourth ODI from the medium pacers. The way Russell made Badri to dance to his tunes was actually a sight to watch. Proud to say the entire young brigade handled the short stuff better than expected but completely lost the plot against the slow bowling of Martin and Simmons. Surprising is it? In reality, the batsmen were hardly in the zone to play and so chanced their arm against the slower bowlers only to create heartbreak. I'm little too kind here but the purists and pundits will be frying the million dollar babies for the choice of shot selection. 

Now, India will be playing the final ODI at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. So what? 

For the first time Captain Sammy’s request is granted and the teams will be playing on a hard pitch that offer more pace and bounce compared to the earlier wickets so far. That should send few butterflies in the Indian camp. Also the record of Indians in this venue is not so encouraging. India played 10 Tests here, drew 3, won 1 and lost 6. In the 6 ODI’s, 2 were abandoned, won 2 and lost 2.

The key aspect is India will also be playing the First Test in the same venue on Monday, 20 Jun 2011. Don’t really remember if a Test match ever started on a Monday morning. Doesn’t make any sense to me? In the days when it is extremely difficult to find audience for Test match why kill it further by not having any action during the weekends?

Coming back to the article, it is a known story that Indians lack the technique to survive on bouncy surfaces. Being an optimist supporter, I would be the last man to be bogged down by records. 

The way Ishanth Sharma bounced out Hyatt at backward point in the 4^th ODI is an ample testimony to the damage the Indians could inflict to WI on this surface. A swinging Praveen Kumar with little more pace and bounce for assist will only become more lethal. Munaf Patel should make the life of WI batsman difficult with his line and length. Ideally the Indian bowling unit appears good enough to defend the total the batsman put on the board. Again except for Ishant our medium pacers don’t bend the back as much as the WI counterparts.

The final ODI will be a good prelude to the First Test. The performance of Raina, Badri and Kohli will be closely watched as 2 spots are available for grabs. As of now, Raina and Kohli are likely candidates to make it to the Test eleven; however an inspirational performance by Badri could change tables. After all this is his last lifeline. If he misses, he can as well forget the idea of wearing the national Jersey anymore.


Bottomline: For now the ODI series is likely to conclude 3-2, while India could possibly start the Test series trailing 0-1.

Dinesh

Cricket Lover