The Hindu : A chance for India to test its reserve strength

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 11, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

A chance for India to test its reserve strength

By S. Dinakar

Dhaka April 10. Amid the heat and the dust, in this bustling capital of the teeming crowds and the traffic jams, but a city with a passion for the game, the cricketers will sweat it out for the TVS Cup.

The World Cup hangover has still not left, when yet another ODI tournament arrives. An Indian side that appeared to have lost the mental edge before staging a stirring comeback in Southern Africa, faces the challenge of what should essentially be a two-horse race in a three-nation tournament.

This will be a rare occasion when a host nation can be ruled out of a final, but then, Bangladesh is not much of a threat. An India-South Africa summit clash on April 20 is almost a foregone conclusion.

However, the `formalities' still have to be gone through, and India meets Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu Stadium, in a day-night clash on Friday. And after the triumphs and the heartbreaks of the World Cup, the much-sought after men in blue will be on view again.

This will be a very different Indian side though with some of the `Big Guns' unavailable for the tournament due to varying reasons.

There is considerable disappointment in Bangladesh that Sachin Tendulkar will not be seen in action, however, the presence of the `Hero next door' skipper Sourav Ganguly, extremely popular in these parts, does make up for some of it.

The absence of Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, and Aashish Nehra provides a wonderful opportunity for India to test its reserve strength, even if Bangladesh, one of the three sides in the fray, is struggling to survive in the big league.

However, a feel of international competition, in whatever shape or form, is bound to do the aspirants only good. There are lessons to be learnt from every game - against the meek and the mighty.

'Good exposure for youngsters'

Skipper Ganguly indicated the same when he said that the competition would provide good exposure for youngsters. There are good chances that Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir and Mumbai paceman Avishkar Salvi will win their India caps on Friday.

Both deserve the break. While the left-handed Gambhir batted fluently for India `A' in the West Indies, Salvi, who has modelled his bowling on Australian pace ace Glenn McGrath, was among the wickets during the same Caribbean campaign.

It is now up to the youngsters to grab the opportunity. Chances like these do not surface very often.

Given the circumstances, a gruelling World Cup, that must have been, both, physically and mentally exhausting, and the subsequent strained back, it is indeed creditable Ganguly agreed to lead the side in Dhaka.

There were signs that the captain would bat at No.3, which means Virender Sehwag and Gambhir would walk out at the top of the order.

Sehwag's form during the World Cup suffered a slump of sorts despite a brave knock, but one laced with more than a hint of desperation in the final.

The Bangabandhu pitch is expected to be a typically sub-continental one - on the slower side, holding little promise for the pacemen.

The lively duo of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif should add weight to the middle-order in the tournament, filling up the temporary vacuum caused by the absence of Tendulkar and Sehwag. And Dinesh Mongia has a chance, at last, to run up a big score, even if it may not amount to much against a minnow.

The young and efficient Parthiv Patel should to raring to go, donning the Big Gloves, after spending much time in the sidelines, while the much-maligned Ajit Agarkar might finally receive a look-in.

Zaheer Khan, clearly the leader of the Indian pace pack in the absence of Javagal Srinath and Aashish Nehra, will look for support from Agarkar and Salvi. And off-spinner Harbhajan Singh could emerge India's trump card on a pitch where the ball is likely to `grip'.

There is much anger in Bangladesh over the performance of the National side in the World Cup, where a lack of character was all too evident. Bangladesh hardly displayed a will to fight, caved in much too easily.

Now Bangladesh has a new captain in all-rounder Khaled Mahmud, but he has a daunting task ahead. There is a lack of talent in the side, especially in the batting department, where the side finds it almost impossible to post competitive totals.

Bangladesh's bowling is probably a little more disciplined with paceman Manjurul Islam and spinner Mohammed Rafique, both left-armers, being the most experienced customers. However, the side has a mountain to climb in the days ahead.

An officer at the immigration did give vent to his feelings when he said, "We should go back to football.'' Yet, given the love for the game in this country, probably the next generation of Bangladesh cricketers will blossom. However, for the men in green, tomorrow represents the immediate challenge.

The teams (from):

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammed Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Avishkar Salvi, Abhijit Kale, Sarandeep Singh, Amit Mishra and Sanjay Bangar.

Bangladesh: Khaled Mahmud (captain), Javed Omar, M. Ashraful, Habibul Bashar, M. Hossain, Akram Khan, Alok Kapali, Tushar Imran, Khaled Mashud, Talha Jubair, Sanwar Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Tapash Baishya, Manjural Islam and Tarek Aziz Khan.

Umpires: M/s. Alim Dar (Pakistan) and Mahbub Rahman (Bangladesh), Third Umpire: Mr. Shakoor Rahman (Bangladesh). Match Referee: Mr. Clive Lloyd.

Hours of play: 1.30 p.m. (IST) to 5 p.m. and 5.45 p.m. till close of play.

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