Shorn of stars Indians seek revenge under lights

As the Indians prepare to take on Pakistan in the last league day-night match of the Tri-Series at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here tomorrow, it would be an ideal opportunity for them to force a revenge win and script a perfect build-up for the summit clash between the two to be held at Bangalore on April 4.

Of course, Tendulkar and another leading light of Indian cricket, skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, won’t be here tomorrow, and the team would also have to do without Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Nayan Mongia and Sadgoppan Ramesh, who have been rested.

The Indian selectors’ strange policy of experimentation has come at a time when the team needs confidence by getting into the winning groove which does not come by swapping players in every game.

India’s performance in the tournament has been like a roller-coaster ride. If it was an abject surrender to the Pakistanis at Jaipur, wins over Sri Lanka, especially the one at Pune yesterday with even Azhar missing from action, confirmed the team’s ability. Channelising that to the optimum would certainly help them in shrugging off the Tendulkar spectre.

Even as the Indian selectors are struggling with slots for the World Cup-bound team, the Pakistanis have already charted out specific roles for different players. If Shoaib Akhtar is making inroads into the opposing batting line-ups on the sub-continent wickets, a little consistency might make him too hot to handle in cold and seaming English conditions. There is Saqlain, with all the tricks up his sleeves.

Then, stroke-players like Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi have the ability to run away with things.

Above all, they have a three-in-one (skipper, bowler and batsman) Wasim Akram. The only threat for them is the complacency from within. But for Akram’s encore in the last league match against Sri Lanka, Pakistan would have struggled to even come near the target.

The stand-in Indian skipper Ajay Jadeja’s performance and his way of handling things against Sri Lanka at Pune came as a refreshing change. Not the immensely-gifted kinds, Jadeja has had a positive effect on the team members which in turn has given a new twist to the Indian captaincy angle. Even though Azhar has been nominated the skipper for the World Cup, the team has not been forwarded to the organisers.

India also unearthed another talent the other day at Pune. There was always a question mark over the hard-hitting south-paw Amay Khurasia’s temperament at the international level, but the way he paced the innings in his debut match, he sure looks an exciting bet. With another run-feast in the offing tomorrow on a placid pitch, Khurasia would be keen on sealing his World Cup berth.

It will also be a do-or-die game for Vinod Kambli and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. As for Venkatesh Prasad, he must now be scratching his head over the hide-and-seek game the selectors have always played with him.

Teams (from)

India: Ajay Jadeja (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Vinod Kambli, Amay Khurasia, Robin Singh, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Saba Karim, Ajit Agarkar, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Nikhil Chopra, Virendra Sehwag, Gyanendra Pandey and Venkatesh Prasad.

Pakistan: Wasim Akram (captain), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhanna, Imran Nazir, Moin Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Arshad Khan, Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Nazir.

Umpires: SK Bansal and K Hariharan

Hours of play: 2.30-6 p.m. (Ist session) & 6.40-10.10 p.m. (2nd session).