By Ashis Ray, IANS
Bristol : The weather forecast for this western English city Friday – the day of the second one-day international cricket match between India and England – is good.
In other words, the team winning the toss should bat, although the ball could initially nip around a bit. This, though, could be compensated by a lower bounce in the second innings, which could complicate stroke play.
Having lost the opener at Southampton, India must now think positive and ideally recall Ramesh Powar, whose flighted deliveries could pose a few questions to the English batsmen, which were non-existent at the Rose Bowl.
It’s another matter, whether India have the courage to play five regular bowlers, now that they are one down in the seven-match series.
There isn’t much the tour selectors can tinker with.
They need to reassess Gautam Gambhir’s ability in conditions assisting seam or swing. In such circumstances, there is no better candidate than Rahul Dravid at number three.
Indeed, to contend with the vagaries of the English weather, a first time tourist is best exposed at number seven.
In bowling, Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh are automatic choices. Ajit Agarkar, his inconsistency notwithstanding, needs to be persevered with. In the event the Indians are bold enough to subscribe to a fifth specialist bowler, the pitch rather than any premeditated idea should dictate selection.
Piyush Chawla is not generating sufficient bounce to trouble world class batsmen. England, traditionally weak against leg spin and googly, are more accustomed to this variety after frequently facing Shane Wearne and Danish Kaneria in the county games in recent years. It’s, therefore, an interesting test for the 18-year-old.
The choice of the fifth bowler, if preferred, should be between Chawla and Munaf Patel, who was bowling at nearly 120 kmph 18 months ago, but is now lumbering in at close to 100 kmph. His body language on the field, other than when he is running in to bowl, needs to be trimmed into shape, as well.
Meanwhile, England have signalled a sign of confidence by not announcing a replacement for Ryan Sidebottom, who is unavailable for selection for the next two matches because of a persistant side strain.
The pace, bounce and accuracy demonstrated by Andrew Flintoff Tuesday has been uplifting for captain Paul Collingwood, not to mention the twin centuries by Alastair Cook, making only his sixth ODI appearance, and Ian Bell – the first time England recorded this since 2005 against Bangladesh.
England, moreover, have a trump card in Kevin Pietersen, the world’s number two rated ODI batsman. By comparison, the highest ranked Indian is Mahendra Singh Dhoni at number five – which may be a false indicator, since most of his success has been at home or in the subcontinent.
England is seventh to India’s fifth in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings. Indeed, India won 6-1 the last time the two sides met. But the formbook refers to the past, whereas the present is a home encounter for the Englishmen, who are determined to address the anomaly in their one-day performance.
In short, as after the Lord’s test, India need to come up with answers to the challenges of an unexpected kind suddenly confronting them. Their think-tank must operate overtime to discover ripostes.