Lot at stake for India

Having stumbled at the finishing post after performing admirably in Nairobi, India open their campaign in Sharjah against Sri Lanka on Friday in the triangular cricket series also involving Zimbabwe, with a lot at stake.

The Indians have brought a glimmer of hope for their fans with their fine all-round performance in the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi, and Sharjah gives them an excellent opportunity to prove their credentials once again.

Nobody gave the Indians any chance of proceeding beyond the quarter-finals in Nairobi, when they took on World champions Australia.

However, they not only beat Australia but crushed the formidable South Africans on their way to the final. And though the loss in the final to New Zealand was disappointing, it looked more a case of having one bad day, or the opponents proving to be the better team on the day, rather than the abject surrender that had so notoriously come to be associated with the Indian team.

However, the important thing is not that India defeated Australia and South Africa - which in itself was no mean achievement considering the state of Indian cricket in recent times - but their attitude and body language throughout the tournament.

From a team of no-hopers, suddenly, the Indians, with the addition of some exciting youngsters in their ranks, look transformed into a team who play to win, and win on their merits rather than their rivals' demerits.

And now they must be looking forward to prove that their performance in Nairobi was no flash in the pan, that their approach to a game has indeed seen a marked turnaround.

Captain Sourav Ganguly is not averse to trying out his limited options in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka. His hands are forced in terms of bowling and batting options but shuffle he must if India is to test fire its ammunition before the tournament really gets serious next week.

The three participating teams, India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe would have played two matches each by Sunday before they repeat the cycle next week to identify the finalists for the trophy. The final is slated for October 29.

Ganguly is seriously restricted in the batting options and must look to add depth in the middle order even if it means dropping a regular bowler from the side.

At present India has five regular batsmen in Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Vinod Kambli and Yuvraj Singh, with all rounder Robin Singh coming in at number six. The wicketkeeper and four main bowlers make up the rest of the side.

If the ICC knock out tourney in Nairobi was any indication, S Sriram is set to resume his one-match old international career at the expense of Ajit Agarkar. The Mumbai paceman was a shadow of his former bustling self in Nairobi and it seems the spate of injuries and his slim frame have put a question mark over his career.

Agarkar had a brilliant start to his career in 1997, in the year in which he became the fastest first 50 wicket-taker in one-day cricket. But then he has regularly been forced to attend to his knee and back injuries and has lost at least two yards in pace.

To top it all, Agarkar as a batsman seems just unable to make any contribution and, instead, exposes the brittle Indian lower half to opposition bowlers. Against Australia last winter, Agarkar was out for duck five times in a row.

Sriram rates high in Ganguly's esteem as a sharp inside- the-ring fielder and a useful batsman and left-arm tweaker. He has the makings of a useful one-day allrounder and with Robin Singh could make the Indian tail appear that much shorter.

Otherwise Ganguly will struggle to put either Sunil Joshi or Hemang Badani in the playing eleven in the opener.

Joshi, the left-arm spinner from Karnataka who has had a chequered career since making his debut against England in the Edgbaston Test of 1996, is unlikely to find a place against a strong Sri Lankan batting line-up.

As for prospects of including Badani, Ganguly will have to drop a batsman to accommodate the Tamil Nadu left-hander but it is a tall order.

It would be interesting to see if Ganguly retains Dravid and Kambli at number three and four spots or swaps their batting positions.

Kambli could be said to have a point against his demotion in the last two games at Nairobi but here he is scheduled to bat at number four.

Dravid will serve the team well at number three when the ball is fresh and the spinners are yet to come on in the middle overs. The Karnataka star, will need to push the rate of scoring against the stingy Sri Lankan slow bowlers on an apparently slow wicket and given his technique and inclination, Dravid will have to bat far above his potential to make an impact in this tournament.

Vijay Dahiya, as a wicketkeeper, did sufficiently well in Nairobi but his batting is woefully out of depth at this level of cricket. Most of the one-day international sides have a batsman-wicketkeeper playing these days but that does not appear to be the case with India.

Sri Lanka appear well-drilled for the battle ahead. Their batting runs deep with two explosive batsmen in Kumar Sangakkara and Rumesh Kaluwitharana coming late at number six or seven.

The first five batsmen in Sanath Jayasuriya, Avishka Gunawardena, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold and Mahela Jayawardene can make any bowler sweat. Sangakkara and Kaluwitharana precede the four bowlers in the side.

Sri Lanka have two newcomers in Kaushalya Weeraratne and Tillekeratne Dilshan and coach Dave Whatmore said they are the future of Sri Lankan cricket.

Weeraratne is primarily a genuine swing bowler who bowls at a good pace and moves the ball either way with little change in his action. He also hits extremely cleanly while batting. He first came into limelight in the Asia Cup in Dhaka earlier this year when, against India, he picked up Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh.

Mail Cricket Editor