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Mexican standoff at the Basin Reserve

Thanks to rain, there was no match at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, today -- hence, no match report here, either.

Just a couple of thoughts on the Indian innings, is all. And the first relates to the way this side bats when it is forced to.

The game started off as a 44-over affair, and the Indians seemed all at sea on a seaming, moist track after Dion Nash won a toss -- or more accurately, Azharuddin had one of his rare losses -- and put India in.

8/1 in 5 overs, 15/1 when the rains came down and curtailed the game further to 32 overs a side. And then, after that interruption, the Indians batted with the kind of sense of purpose you don't see from them too often.

It was a superbly planned innings. Tendulkar was finding run-getting tough at the outset, so Rahul Dravid promptly went out of character, to thump cuts and pulls to the ropes.

Then Tendulkar found his feet and opened out in a trademark exhibition of big-hitting -- at which Dravid promptly slipped into second fiddle mode, working the single and letting his partner do the hard work.

Tendulkar gets out, and Dravid takes on the onus of run-harvesting again, allowing Azharuddin time to settle. Then Dravid leaves, mishitting a pull for once after an innings of the kind of strokeplay he is supposedly incapable of -- and Azhar promptly steps in to the breach and opens out.

It all felt like a well planned relay race -- the baton changing hands smoothly, the senior partner leading the way and letting the newcomer have the time to settle. It also made you wonder, if this team could, on a track that had early life for the bowlers, pile up 208/4 in 32 overs (the second, third and fourth fifties of the innings came in just 39, 39 and 37 balls respectively), then what keeps them from playing to this potential more often?

The good bits about the innings were the continued willingness of Rahul Dravid to forget his own clinically correct style of play, and improvise when the team needed him to; and Azharuddin's own return to batting form, if this one innings is an indicator. For the first time after his Test century earlier in the tour, Azhar looked good out in middle, hitting them off the middle and, on one instance, even lofting a six in the teeth of a very stiff wind, in an awesome display of power-hitting.

The two, combined, could have a huge impact on the three games to go in this series and, in fact, make the difference as far as India is concerned -- assuming, that is, that the Basin Reserve game, rescheduled for late tonight India time, does get under way despite forecasts of rain.

Until then, ciao.