Final Test reaches fever pitch

So essentially it means choosing two out of three fringe batsmen: Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer and Mohammad Kaif. None of them are conventional No.3 batsmen but India under Chappell have been preparing for such an eventuality. It was a strategic batting shuffle that helped India get over Sehwag’s absence at Kotla.

The situation is a little different, though; replacing a strokemaker is easier, in this squad, than filling Dravid’s shoes and providing solidity in the middle order. All the more because Motera, as Chappell pointed out today, will need teams to be patient and ready to graft.

Whoever walks in at No.3 will have to be the anchor around which the team can revolve. Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, even floaters Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Irfan Pathan, can be pushed up the order but, despite their success rate in such circumstances, they cannot compensate for Dravid’s ability to occupy the crease when the situation demands.

And Dravid’s absence leaves a huge void in terms of sheer experience in the middle order.

One option is to playing all three openers — Sehwag, Jaffer and Gambhir — and push one down the order. But it’s fraught with risks. Gambhir and Sehwag are out of form, Jaffer is untested at the top level.

The odds are that Gambhir will walk out with Sehwag — especially considering the long pep talk he had with the coach at nets. And Chappell, known to have a high opinion of the Delhi man, backed Gambhir despite his lack of form. ‘‘Every batsmen goes through such phases’’, he said. ‘‘We hope he gets some runs soon.’’

That leaves Dravid’s understudy Kaif. Since the season began he’s been groomed to play higher up the order with exactly these circumstances in mind. He has had success at No.3 in ODIs and, if he doesn’t possess the perfect technique, he has the temperament to hunker down and stay at the crease.

His inclusion tomorrow would be only fair, given the time he’s spent in the wings auditioning for such a role. Not a lunch or tea session has gone by this series without Kaif knocking balls around. One would suspect he’s had enough of Ian Frazer’s tossed up spinners; he’s ready for the real stuff.

It’s a hunger a weakened India could do with.