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India likely to play five bowlers

S. Ram Mahesh

Either Dravid or Pathan will have to open; pitch expected to offer turn

— PHOTO: AFP

READY TO DELIVER: With the Adelaide pitch traditionally favouring early pace and bounce, and then spin on days four and five, it will be wise to play both Harbhajan and Ishant in the final Test.

Adelaide: The drought here in Adelaide could, over Wednesday, bother Anil Kumble more than it has this graceful city’s residents.

The Adelaide Oval strip, despite constant attention, hasn’t escaped the dry heat. It is expected to favour turn, thereby enhancing Harbhajan Singh’s chances of playing the fourth Test. But, R.P. Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Ishant Sharma bowled so well at Perth that dropping one of them wouldn’t just be harsh; it would be unwise.

Besides, none of the three lends himself to being left out. R.P. Singh has led the attack with distinction. Pathan broke through in each innings and batted both competently and courageously. Ishant showed he could overmaster Australia’s best.

A few options

Kumble has a few options before him. Instead of choosing from five bowlers, he can play them all. That the idea has currency was borne out by M.S. Dhoni and Phil Jaques on Tuesday.

The Indian vice-captain said he had explored the ploy of using five bowlers.

“We have yet to decide on that,” said Dhoni. “You are sacrificing one batsman, so you have to assess the way the batsmen are playing. It’s a pleasure to play five bowlers, where everyone has the capacity to be spearheads. But, you have to compromise a lot to lose the extra batsman.” Jaques, who has had success here in domestic cricket, said, “It’s a great batting wicket for the first two or three days and on the last two it goes up and down. It’s one of those wickets that does spin. It will be a tough call for India to leave out one of the quicks after they did well at Perth. So, I think it (five bowlers) is a distinct possibility. And Pathan batted very well at Perth.”

Pathan’s resurrection has allowed India to contemplate playing five bowlers. Doubtless, the idea has appeal. Just as the extra batsman is capital in conditions that aid bowlers, a fifth bowler is a trick-card tucked beneath the captain’s sleeve on a track plum for batting.

Variety has much to commend it, and an attack comprising two left-arm swing bowlers of different speeds and angles, a tall seamer, a leg-break and googly bowler, and an off-spinner has a nice ring to it. Moreover, a Test strip wears over five days, necessitating different modes of attack; often, even in a day’s play, the dynamic set up by changing batsmen and an ageing ball biases a particular style. So, the more varied a captain’s set of knives, the greater his side’s potency.

Another factor that will encourage India is Dhoni’s improved performance with the bat in the second innings at Sydney and Perth. Although he didn’t cross 40, he applied himself in pressure-strained situations until losing concentration. If he does move up a spot in the batting order, the time he has spent in the middle, learning about constructing innings, will come in handy.

“Except Stuart Clark, they’ve bowled outside the off-stump line to me if the ball isn’t moving,” said Dhoni about his restraint. “I don’t want to chase the ball, it was one of the things I did well in England. It’s about batting in partnerships, not just playing your natural game. It’s what the team needs in the situation and the conditions. At times (in the past) I’ve come in looking to accelerate so we have time to bowl out the opposition, and other times I’ve had to curb my instincts.”

The deficiencies

Playing five bowlers has its deficiencies: either Rahul Dravid or Pathan will have to open, forcing another reshuffle of the batting in the first case and exposing a non-specialist in the second. Further, one of the five is almost always under-bowled, so while the captain can pick from five, often it’s four doing the job. Besides, reputable off-spin can be had from Virender Sehwag. And should the track break up, the faster bowlers, who constrain reaction time, are more dangerous than slow turn.

The resolution? If, from close study of the strip, Harbhajan’s presence is deemed critical, play five, and open with Dravid (who will profit from Sehwag’s company more than he did from Wasim Jaffer’s); don’t drop a seamer to accommodate the off-spinner.

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