Spin is in but India wary of Pakistan punch

The Pakistani spinners had just triggered the second most stunning collapse in one-day cricket at Edgbaston — the venue for the epic India-Pakistan match — against Kenya. And Ganguly was busy weighing his options of using both his spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh into the attack for that game.

But the astuteness that he brings to his captaincy only means that he will keep his cards very close to his chest, well aware that in Inzamam Ul Haq, Yousuf Youhana and Shahid Afridi, Pakistan have three of the finest players of spin bowling.

At the indoor nets, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh faced underarm deliveries rolled along the floor while Virender Sehwag took on the bowling machine, asking for the ball to be sent down at extreme pace. Perhaps simulating what Mohammad Sami and Shoaib Akhtar might do on Super Sunday.

He was confident, he told The Indian Express, of a good showing despite the failure at the Rose Bowl against Kenya. ‘‘I am just going to try and stay at the wicket for as long as I can. I have all the videos of my earlier knocks and I am going through them and working my game out.’’

Later, after a lengthy batting stint, he picked up the threads of the conversation. ‘‘A big score is due and the way my team and my captain have backed me, I owe it to them to play a big knock on Sunday.’’

It seems obvious that Sehwag will walk out to take first strike for India on Sunday — there’s no magnet strong enough to break his bond with the opening slot.

He is aware, though, that he has not scored a century all year and his average for 2004 has been a measly 24. A far cry from surreal 2002, when he rampaged on pitches around the globe to average 42. And yet his worth to the side is in no doubt and the team needs to ensure that his potential is fully realised.

A reassuringly cavalier 58 against a local ECB side on Thursday will do much for Sehwag because his success and scoring is not related to the quality — or lack of it — of the bowlers but how well he middles the ball. There is a palpable intensity in the practise sessions in Birmingham. And Ganguly, who is keen on regaining the reputation this team has acquired over the last three years, is responsible for that.

As a team mate found out when he finished his batting session and was stepping out, only to be stopped by the skipper and asked to turn his arm over in the nets.

And when the players got through Ganguly, coach John Wright would send them straight to the main ground for an intensive fielding session.

Bowling coach Bruce Reid, meanwhile, is busy getting video footage of his bowlers who he believes have to bowl on one side of the wicket to succeed in this tournament.

He is aware of the task facing his bowlers. ‘‘I understand that there is a lot of public pressure on these guys to perform. But look at (Rahul) Dravid, (Sourav) Ganguly and (VVS) Laxman who have the hunger to succeed. They have the same or maybe more pressure on them but they show real character.’’

Wright knows that a defeat on Sunday will knock the team out of the tournament forcing it to return to a tirade of criticism from the media and fans — a situation not conducive for the Australian Test series that gets underway next month.