So the Indians lived to die another day. Bond, licensed and skilled, started the familiar slide that seemed like action replay from Wellington.
Stephen Fleming's jibe about world class batsmen being able to play on any surface and condition must have raised the hackles of the highly paid stars, but alas, not their standards. Playing on any surface does not necessarily mean scoring in three figures but in deploying all the technique, experience and concentration a batsman has mastered over the years. Sometimes all it takes is occupying the crease for thirty minutes longer -imagine if the first six batsmen had extended the life of the Indian innings by three hours and a hundred runs - but instead, thirty minutes is all it took for the death knell to sound when Virendra Shewag was caught at short leg.
Someone, (The selectors? The captain? The coach?) must be confident in the knowledge that Shewag will eventually make a great opener on green, seaming pitches. But where is the technique and experience necessary to block a fast paced delivery bouncing like a kangaroo on heat? Even Fleming would pardon him. Sending him out to open at Wellington was a mistake, sending him out again in Hamilton was gross myopia. Shewag is one of the most potent weapons we have. It would be a better idea to unleash him when the pitch has eased up and the bowlers have lost their daisy freshness. Number five, in this case, sits better on him than Ganguly.
Which brings us to the optimum opening pair. Rahul Dravid is the natural choice. He hates to open, we all know that. But blow us down if he hasn't been doing just that, walking in with barely a run or two on the board. Why not take the position formally? At least when required.
Parthiv Patel is the other choice. And with him the added advantage is having the left -right hand combination. This little man with the big heart has shown us that he is neither daunted nor cowed by pace or bounce.
It's never too late to experiment. Tomorrow the Kiwis might be yorked in exactly the same way as the Indians, but if they manage to hang on and take a healthy lead, then the Indians have nothing to lose by trying something new. The new order then, will be: Patel, Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar, Shewag, Ganguly, Bangar, Singh, Khan, Nehra, Yohannan.
Why Laxman at three? Well, if rumors are to be believed, the second innings at Calcutta happened for a reason.
