‘Hurt’ India desperate to keep series alive
Wounded with a streak of injuries, the kangaroos were supposed to be killed by the Indian tigers. But instead, they covered their wounds with a lotion of self-belief, fought hard and now they have the tigers under their sword. With Australia leading the series 3-2 with two matches to go, expect the sixth ODI at Guwahati to be one heck of a nerve-wrecker.
India
Ideally, keeping in mind the situation and the scenario throughout the series, India should have been 4-1 up in the series after the first five ODIs. But cricket is not a slave of idealism, which means the home team is lagging 2-3 behind against a highly depleted Australian side.
The defeat at Hyderabad has hurt the Indians. And it is when you’re hurt the most, that you tend to stand up and give your best. Moreover, losing a series at home against ‘this’ Australian side would crush the ego of the team that proudly claims to be one of the firsts to look the mighty Aussies in their eye. Hence, India would want to win this series at any cost.
And there’s not much that they have to do to win. They just have to do those things regularly what they have been doing in patches throughout the series- bowl, bat and field well- and yes, do it all on the same day.
With Sachin Tendulkar back in his roaring form, the already strong batting line-up now looks 10 times stronger- only if it plays up to its strengths. And like a stuck tape recorder, I’ll say again that Sehwag is just one knock away from winning a match single-handedly for India.
The middle order again, has been inconsistent to the core. If we take a look at the Indian scorecards in all the matches they lost, the failure of the middle order is one common factor.
As for the tailenders, though you cant expect them to make-up for the failure of the higher order batsmen, they need to put their foot down during crunch situations and be counted. Apart from Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar, we haven’t seen such resilience from anyone else. Jadeja, in particular, would do well to improve his judgment of the existence of a run.
Suresh Raina has been an ideal man at No.6, proving to be a perfect partner to first, MS Dhoni in the second ODI and then to Tendulkar in the fifth, without getting lost in their shadows. India will require something similar from him.
The bowlers were taken to cleaners in the last game but that shouldn’t deter them. They have done well in almost all the matches before that. Harbhajan Singh’s arrival in form should only add to the strength.
One area in which India has blown hot and cold- most of the times it hass been cold- fielding. Already much has been said about it and much more will be said in future as well. But there’s not much anyone can do about it, as the reason for such high variation in India’s fielding level is beyond comprehension. All we can do is hope that Sunday is one of those days where the fielding clicks, after all its India’s last chance of keeping the series alive. One hick-up and the Australians will return home with the cup.
Australia
Well, what can one say about this team? They are the champions and have played like champions throughout. Though Australia hasn’t got it all easy and two out of the three games they have won could have gone either way, they are the team who have held on to their nerves in tight situations.
Thankfully, there are no more additions to their list of injured players, which means, Ponting has the same set of men available who won the thriller at Hyderabad, along with the options in all-rounder Andrew McDonald and pacer Burt Cockley, who have arrived as the replacements for Siddle and Henriques.
We all know the Australians seldom let their grip slip away when they have things under their control. And beating India in India has always been one of the top priorities in their cricketing agenda.
Hence, one would expect Ponting’s men to go out there in their full spirits and play like there’s no tomorrow. A series win in the given circumstances will reinstate the Aussie supremacy in the world of cricket.
The Pitch
Going by history, the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium is one of those low-scoring venues where you often get to see a good tussle between the bat and the ball. Of the 12 ODIs played on this multi-sports ground, the total of 250 has been crossed only twice.
Guwahati being in the extreme east of India doesn’t enjoy long hours of sunshine which means there will be an early start and the morning dew will assist the fast bowlers. This wicket is generally known to keep low and slow but according to the local curator you can expect another 600 runs on this track.
Probable Eleven
With his sorry figures of 0-73 in nine overs, one would expect Munaf Patel to go back to warming the bench but keeping in mind the plight of all the fast bowlers in the Hyderabad contest, MS Dhoni would just give him another chance.
As far as Australia is concerned, Ponting, in his pre-match presser hinted on giving a game to all-rounder Andrew McDonald, who has recently joined the squad as a replacement for Henriques. Ponting pointed out that McDonald did well on the Indian pitches in the Champions League and the nature of the Guwahati wicket would suit his style of bowling. Mitchell Johnson who was rested in the fifth match is still struggling with pain and is not a firm choice.
India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, 1Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra.
Australia: Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting (capt.), Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Adam Voges, Graham Manou (wk), Andrew McDonald/Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.
