Back in form, not in order

Strange though the line-ups may appear, especially at the sight of Kaif walking out with Sehwag, it would be premature to question Chappell’s plan of action. Much as winning is on everyone’s minds, the coach is not looking for quick-fix solutions to this team’s problems. Instead he wants to break the mould and the fixed ideas in the minds of the players and reshuffle them to get the optimum out of each contributor. If successful, he believes it would justify India’s ‘best batting line-up in the world’ tag.

The plan has its merits; where else would players have an opportunity to seek their batting slot in real time in an international contest? And for all those batsmen who have time and again kept mentioning that ‘‘they are ready to bat at any position for the benefit of the team,’’ Chappell’s method will separate the wheat from the chaff.

And so Mohammad Kaif opened the innings, braved the Jermaine Lawson storm before an edge saw a promising start cut short. Ditto for Suresh Raina, who could have returned to the pavilion for his second successive duck of the series but for a dropped catch. He faced some awkward deliveries but refused to cave in and returned with his reputation enhanced.

After the match, Chappell made the 19-year-old sit with the team’s video analyst and watch his dismissals on the screen. He was also shown every shot he played square of the wicket — similar to the shot that got him out — while facing the new ball.

Yuvraj Singh, struggling with his form, stuck it out and partnered the match-winning contribution of skipper Rahul Dravid. Dhoni came in at six and did a cameo to finish the match.

The re-jig course is far from complete but it seems the right way to go, given that India lie seventh in the world rankings despite having some of the finest players of this generation in their ranks. Nonetheless, India’s passage to the final is safe and Chappell wants to use this opportunity to fit every piece of the Indian jigsaw in its rightful place. ‘‘If we have anything on hand currently, it is time,’’ he said.

Point noted, but does the statement mean that there’s time in plenty but not the talent he’s been looking for? Chappell’s response was swift: ‘‘I’ve mentioned several times that there’s no dearth of talent here. But let’s see it this way, every individual does one particular thing very well. And we’ve got a lot of options available here, so let’s keep choosing from them.’’

SCOREBOARD

West Indies: X Marshall c Dravid b Harbhajan Singh 26; R Morton lbw Pathan 1; S Joseph run out 3; N Deonarine lbw Sehwag 41; S Chanderpaul lbw Raina 22; R Powell b Sehwag 1; D Smith c Dhoni b Harbhajan Singh 20; D Ramdin b Nehra 24; T Best c Raina b Zaheer Khan 24; D Powell b Nehra 0; J Lawson not out 3; Extras (b 2, lb 6, nb 1, w 4): 13; Total (all out in 47.4 overs): 178 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-22, 3-32, 4-84, 5-85, 6-109, 7-140, 8-172, 9-172. Bowling: Irfan Pathan 9-3-29-1, Zaheer Khan 9.4-2-32-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-1-24-2, Ashish Nehra 9-2-23-2, Virender Sehwag 6-0-39-2, Suresh Raina 4-0-23-1.

India: M Kaif c Joseph b Best 24; V Sehwag c Ramdin b Lawson 2; S Raina c Marshall b Smith 35; R Dravid not out 52; Yuvraj Singh b Lawson 28; M S Dhoni not out 15; Extras (lb 5, nb 1, w 18): 24; Total (for 4 wkts, 36 overs): 180 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-68, 3-82, 4-143.Bowling: Daren Powell 10-1-44-0, Jermaine Lawson 10-0-66-2, Dwayne Smith 10-0-37-1, Tino Best 5-0-26-1, Runako Morton 1-0-2-0.

Man of the match: Rahul Dravid.