Friday, March 23, 2007
Pathan To Open?
An error crept into my last dispatch and sorry for that. I wrote about a five-bowler attack and Karthik. It was obvious that they won’t go together. It was clear that to play five bowlers one batsman has to be dropped. One’s hope was that that loss would be at least partially compensated by Pathan. And the batsman I suggested for the block was Uthappa. But I overlooked the obvious that Karthik for Uthappa means Pathan can be accommodated only by dropping another bowler. Sorry that was not what I intended. I wanted Pathan to play along with four other bowlers. The Big Picture was right but the error made things look funny. Sorry again.
But who will then open the innings?. We of course have three batsmen who can open. But if India is inserted to bat on a pitch even slightly helpful to the bowlers, some rethinking may be in order. Then either a technically well equipped batsman or a minor cog in the batting wheel should be asked to open the innings. I would prefer the second option. And for that I would choose Pathan to go out with Ganguly. His job would be to make the ball as old as possible before our heavyweights get their turn to bat. Then he can join the other bowlers in thwarting the Sri Lankan attempt to overhaul India’s total. Of course if India gets to bowl first, then Pathan the bowler will be more useful and the services of Pathan the batsman less required.
Sending Sehwag after the pitch has lost some its life may not be such a bad idea. A cameo innings might be more useful to the team’s cause than an early exit. Batsmen with tight technique can work their way out of trouble with less scars than hand-eye co-ordination specialists like Sehwag. They need intervention by God and some of his
colleagues!
Tags: India-Sri Lanka match
