Middle-order resurgence

As Dravid reminded once again after Sunday8217;s win over South Africa, saying 8220;he8217;s got the power, he8217;s got the skill and he8217;s matching that power and skill with temperament, mental strength and brains.8221;

Yuvraj8217;s contribution8212;five centuries, 11 half-centuries, an average of 51, a consistent batting position of either number four or five8212;had made the 2005-06 season memorable.

Go back to Clive Lloyd8217;s team. It had the comfort of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes at the top, that gave the rest of the line-up and the likes of Lloyd himself and Viv Richards the advantage to pile on. In India8217;s case, promoting Tendulkar and Ganguly up the order once again has given the lower rung a similar opportunity.

8220;It8217;s not an easy job to bat lower and under pressure, especially while chasing,8221; is Dravid8217;s own admission. It is commendable how Yuvraj, Dhoni and the likes of Kaarthick, Raina and Kaif have contributed.

Tendulkar himself wanted to go back to the position he had made his own, especially partnering Ganguly. And the duo has never quite enjoyed playing the ball that lost its shine.

And with Dravid settling for his favourite number three spot, there is just another good possibility that the middle-order might start flourishing again. 8220;Batsmen finding their batting slots so well, adjusting and performing for longer periods is a rarity. You could count on fingers how many openers have tasted that kind of success like Sachin-Sourav,8221; reminds former India coach Aunshuman Gaekwad.

In a situation as easy to understand as this one, and the series of Chappell-like experiments becoming a thing of the past, the one thing certain in India8217;s batting now is the urgency of the competition in the middle-order.

Yuvraj has proven himself again while Kaarthick has been a breath of fresh air. Only if Dhoni could find his form soon enough8212;keeping in mind the likes of Raina, Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary waiting to jump in.