Greg to continue his 145;experimentations146; News Archive News

There was red carpet for the Indians at Pink City, warming up for accolades in tomorrow8217;s third one-dayer against Sri Lanka. The Chapp...

Written by SUJIT BHAR

Jaipur | October 31, 2005 12:00 AM IST

3 min read

There was red carpet for the Indians at Pink City, warming up for accolades in tomorrow8217;s third one-dayer against Sri Lanka.

The Chappell-Dravid-Tendulkar combine has been breathing easy, two up with five to go. And going by the mood, the wicket and the task ahead, there is unlikely to be another Irfan Pathanesque exercise.

India look good to bat first if they can, and Dravid made it clear that tinkering wasn8217;t the immediate position. R. P. Singh and Gambhir will sit out of the squad, the rest 13 being the same. Greg said he would 8220;experiment any time with anybody in the interest of the team, but not for any particular player in general.8221; That leaves the opening combination sacrosanct, for now, with a heave-ho likely middle order, if India have to chase.

Greg has a clear take on experiments. He calls it strategy. 8220;Whether it be one man for one match, or three for ten, I call it strategy, if it8217;s for the team. If even Sachin Tendulkar has to do something he does not, we8217;ll do it. He8217;ll do it. I do it for the team, not just for the sake of experimenting.8221;

8220;Yes, Sachin is a team man, he8217;ll do anything that is good for the team,8221; added Dravid. 8220;He has always co-operated.8221; One could not but notice that light shade of reference to the much-talked about 8216;attitude8217; of previous captain Sourav Ganguly.

The wicket looks sound and 8220;full of runs8221; to both captains, and ground in-charge and former Ranji player Tapas Chatterjee hopes for 8220;some spin8221; in the latter stages. So far so good, but the problem is in the character of the pitch.

Nobody really knows. The Sawai Man Singh Stadium isn8217;t about cricket today, functions and lots of government activity filling it up. Cricket isn8217;t held here. India last played Pakistan in 1999 and lost also Board President8217;s XI played South Africa, but it has been overhauled since.

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Only Dravid and Agarkar have played here. 8220;But then the Sri Lankans haven8217;t at all,8221; said Dravid.8221; So that8217;s good.

India8217;s worry is, primarily, India. 8220;It is nice,8221; said Greg, 8220;that different people are scoring in different matches. And it is also good news that Virender Sehwag is less than his prolific self today.8221; Because Greg doesn8217;t want to be too dependent on a few players and that Sehwag can only go up. The bowling can still be cause for worry, probability, if not form waiting a Sri Lankan batting return.

The quiet confidence was visible in the eyes and the gait, unlike on Atapattu. If teamwork was no more a worry, now there could be a minor hitch in the confidence line.

Greg wasn8217;t willing to allow that. Practice this afternoon was intense. At nets, Sachin broke away from the rest and asked a local bowler to simply 8216;throw8217; him 8217;deliveries8217;.

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It was interesting to watch this unusual approach, but at the end, one was left lauding a possible 8216;strategy8217; of the Little Master himself, against whatever arsenal the Lankans walk in with tomorrow.

The key points

	nbsp;	WICKET: The pitch is farm-fresh, with only the Rajasthan juniors having played a match on it a month back, one that totaled 500-odd runs. There has been much rolling and little other disturbance. The grass on the strip is meagre, and though minor cracks show, the sandy sub-soil and the rolling can take care of that. Maybe some uneven bounce with turn late in the day. OUTFIELD: Lush green, should be fast. It8217;s not an Eden, hence there can be obstructions en route, though. A punished delivery should jump the ropes quickly. Even if Lanka want a batting supersub, maybe, a fielder could be a good choice, considering the current bowling strength. JAYASURIYA: Straps his shoulder 8211; one he dislocated while playing waterpolo a couple of weeks before the series 8211; every time he goes out to bat. 8220;That8217;s okay, but he can8217;t bowl,8221; skipper Atapattu said. As good as a half-fielder, too, because he can8217;t afford to fall either. SACHIN: He has already put his stamp on the series. He wants to seal it with a finesse. The team is reverberating in the tri-leadership specials and every move will be positive, in whichever direction. Atapattu, please note. EXPERIMENT: Moody, waiting for Greg to make another move. But if bishops and queens are tied down like pawns.. HISTORY: At the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, India have a 3-3 record. But Lanka haven8217;t played here at all. India are 2-up in the series and are 43-34 ahead of Lanka overall. At home India and Lanka have played 28, winning 19, losing 8, one abandoned.	nbsp;

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