Bose, Powar provide Dravid more choices

RANADEB BOSE: 8220;Fifty seven wickets in seven matches?8221; there is sheer amazement among locals here, having learnt about Ranadeb Bose8217;s feat in the last Ranji Trophy season when he was the highest wicket taker.

And they were equally appreciative of his five-wicket haul here against Sri Lanka A today. Bose took 5/51 in 18.2 overs.

The strapping 28-year-old, head band in place, has locals here believing that he is India8217;s next big pacer. Bose8217;s spell soon after lunch, when he picked up two wickets in consecutive overs, giving away just three runs, had them asking why India had not picked him for the Tests, instead of the wayward S Sreesanth.

India8217;s bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad has said that mistakes Sreesanth had made were not deliberate. 8220;In case of the beamer, it looked like the ball slipped out of his hands,8221; Prasad said and for the no-ball, he added, 8220;he didn8217;t get the jump right8221;. He went on to say that Sreesanth was a hard worker.

Given the coach8217;s faith in him, it is doubtful whether Bose8217;s extremely impressive haul on Friday will help him find a place in the Oval Test squad.

To add to Bose8217;s credit, he bowled on an absolutely flat batting track here, handing India the initiative after the Lankans won the toss and elected to bat first.

RAMESH POWAR: IF Rahul Dravid was trying to decide whether India need four or five bowlers in Tests, or if they needed an all-rounder, Romesh Powar8217;s four-wicket haul today might provide an answer.

The Mumbai off-spinner ran through the middle and lower order of Sri Lanka A today, on a track that was hardly helpful. It was Powar8217;s wickets of Mahela Udawatte, the opener, and captain Thilan Samaraweera that forced Sri Lanka to lose the initiative.

The flight proved to be his most dangerous weapon as he managed to deceive the Lankan top order into playing their shots. If not for a couple of slip-ups on part of wicket-keeper Dinesh Kaarthick8212;a dropped catch included 8211; Powar was headed the Bose way8212;a five-wicket haul.

In the Test at Trent Bridge, it seemed that Dravid had very few options as far as bowling went after he was forced to take Sreesanth out of the attack on the fourth day. But for Zaheer Khan, who bowled the way he did in the last two sessions of play, the Indian captain was seriously short of answers, as far as the fifth bowler was concerned.

In the second innings at Trent Bridge, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar bowled 11 overs between them as the bulk was handled by the medium-pacers. In such a scenario when it became difficult for Dravid to keep using Sreesanth, a fifth bowler was sorely missed.

Powar, it should be mentioned here, is no bad choice with the bat too, providing a healthy option in the middle-order. The 29-year-old may have played only two Tests until now8212;during the tour of Bangladesh in May this year8212;but his domestic grind with an average of 32 with four centuries and 14 fifties, suggests he is good enough for the job.