Without a doubt this is going to be the most watched test match of the year. Interestingly India has to deal with few selection pricks ahead of the big day.
Mukund, Gambir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Dhoni, Bhajji, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma make it to the line up by default. That leaves the choice of No.6 batsmen and the 3rd seamer selection interesting to debate. Had it not for the unbeaten century in the warm up game that made up for half the sides total and saved any embarrassments for the visitors, young Raina was more likely to make way for Yuvraj’s comeback. Guess the senior south paw is left to curse only his fate now. However a place in the XI should also keep Raina on toes to save it for the reminder of the series. With regards to bowler, Sreesanth has the edge over Praveen for seaming and swinging the ball with pace. It is interesting if he is preferred in the lineup. In my opinion, if Raina claims his spot on merit then the same logic should hold good for Praveen’s selection too.
And somewhere around the corner there is a pressure on Harbhajan Singh to deliver. I presented a theory for the below par performance of the offie in the column India No.1. Guess the time has arrived to test the readings. For once Bhajji is facing fierce competition to establish his supremacy if not from inside but from the opposition camp. If the perceptions hold good then we are sure to witness Bhajji’s prowess to outclass Graham Swann as the No.1 spinner. No matter what, the performances are sure to benefit the Indian team.
The lineup of Strauss, Cook, Trott, Pieterson, Bell, Morgan, Prior, Swann, Anderson, Bresnan, Tremlett appears heavy weight on paper. It requires little more than good effort to bundle them twice inside 5 days.
In the first test of the WI tour, India won the toss and elected to bat first despite bouncy conditions. The decision was made to aid the second spinner chosen in the lineup. This is the first reflection of sea change attitude in the Indian camp otherwise known for saving the famed batting lineup from being exposed on juicy conditions. Will India dare to repeat any such stunts in the game ahead? If done so, it will be a huge statement that epitomizes “We are ready for any challenge”. And then drawing the first blood will only be a formality.
Bottomline: The stage is set for the mouth watering clash at the Mecca of cricket.
Dinesh
Cricket Lover
Dinesh
Cricket Lover
I would assume praveen kumar would be the ideal fit for the role we are looking for. We have sharma for aggression and pace, personally i would prefer to see praveen play this one than sree. Going by Dhoni's favouritism for praveen ahead of sree by a country mile and also with his recent performance in WI, i would expect praveen to play 99.99% unless of course Dhoni decides to do some crazy selection which works well most of the times for him.
ReplyDeleteIssue of No 6 batsman is solved more or less solved with Raina making a 100 but as you have mentioned he should be on the toes with yuvraj breating right behind him. It will be interesting if Mukund makes a 100 and Ghambir or Raina fail what will happen when sehwag comes back.
Yeah... even I feel Praveen will make the cut ahead of Sreesanth at this time.
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