India needs solid batting against Windies

Will the West Indies extend their party to 'no-alcohol' Ahmedabad? That will be the question when the team, high on success after beating Australia in Mumbai last week, takes on India in their second league game of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Sardar Patel stadium in Motera on Thursday.

The onus will be on the mercurial Calypso charmers to make or break their fortunes in the competition. They have the ability to blow away the best with their sheer energy, or collapse like a club team and book in for early dinner. Either way, the team is never boring.

The West Indies though could receive a big blow if their captain, Brian Lara, is ruled out of the match due to back spasms. The master batsman injured himself while batting against Australia.

An ordinary ODI side a year earlier, the West Indies has some exciting young talent who have brought in the results. India, who have lost five of their seven meetings this year, know that better than most.

For India to overcome the West Indies on Thursday, they will have to tame the likes of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo. Apart from being a destructive batsman, Gayle's bowling is more than handy on the slower Indian tracks.

"Chris Gayle is actually playing well according to the situation and his ability to adapt the situation," said Rahul Dravid in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. "I remember in early part of his career, he just used to smash everything.

"They have relied heavily on few players, but if we can get two or three key players out we can put them under pressure and that's what we are going to do.

"West Indies have got good balance in their team, but they have found key players in the form and we are not far away from them. There are couple of areas we can get better; it's just a question of getting few of the players into groove, pieces are falling into place."

Given the tough competition within the groups, the teams cannot afford to have an off-day on the field. India (playing after a 11-day break), the West Indies and Australia have all won a match each in Group A and have a good chance to advance to the knock-out stage.

"I'm not thinking about the defeat or going out of the tournament early. We have won our first game and put ourselves in a position to control our destiny," Dravid added.

To begin with, India have to put some runs on the board. Team India made a slow start against England, losing six wickets while chasing a modest total of 125 in Jaipur. With the exception of Sachin Tendulkar, the rest of the batsmen have been out of form. Even during the practice match on Monday, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Mohammed Kaif were out cheaply despite being given two opportunities to bat.

On Tuesday, Bravo stated the obvious when he said that his team would look to exploit India's shaky middle order.

The positive for India would be the promising performances by Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel in the opening game. Bowling with the new ball, the pair was able to swing the ball and get early wickets for the team, which has been a key during this tournament.

India may decide to drop a spinner and strengthen their pace attack on the Ahmedabad track. The South African bowlers banged the ball in and got Sri Lanka out for 141 runs, helping their team to a 78-run win.

If the dew does come down heavily, the ball also becomes too slippery for the spinners to grip.

"It (dew) will play a part in the game. Whether it will decide the outcome of the game, I don't know. It's part of the conditions that you have to take into account when you make decisions or when you decide your side," the Indian captain said.

"As the evening wears on, there's a bit of seam and bounce movement for the seam bowler with hard new ball. But once (the) ball gets soft and wet, you lose the ability to use the ball completely."

Squads:

India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Dinesh Mongia and RP Singh.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh Jr, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Runako Morton and Jerome Taylor.

On field umpires: Aleem Dar, Daryl Harper

Third umpire: Simon Taufel.