Time to overtake after hot chase

The seven-match India-West Indies series has so far swung like a pendulum of grandfather’s clock, but is poised interestingly at 2-2 no...

The seven-match India-West Indies series has so far swung like a pendulum of grandfather’s clock, but is poised interestingly at 2-2 now. Which way it swings on Monday at the IPCL ground here in the fifth match will depend on the team handling the pressure better.

The bat has dominated the ball so far, but there is an outside chance that if the bowlers of the team which bowls first can exploit the early morning conditions and get a few quick wickets, the match could become a low-scoring one, altering the trend.


A confident Indian squad works out at the IPCL Stadium. (Reuters)

India have decided to omit Ashish Nehra, who was lambasted in the day-night Ahmedabad match, and replace him with Tamil Nadu medium pacer L Balaji. The way Chris Gayle has been blasting the Indian bolwers, if Balaji can get him out early he could become a hero overnight.

West Indies, too, have ruled out Ryan Hinds, who tore some ligaments in his leg in the Ahmedabad match trying to save a boundary. Carl Hooper said he would definitely play because ‘‘it is a key match.’’

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Procter appeals for trouble-free match

VADODARA, NOV 17: Match Referee Mike Procter issued a strong appeal to the people of Baroda to maintain peace. Procter, denying that the crowd over-reacted in Rajkot, said it was he who abandoned the match and, since India were in control, awarded it to them under the Duckworth Lewis system. Procter added that ICC rules did not provide for such a decision being taken under the Duckworth Lewis system, that he had done it fully at his own discretion and that the ICC was now looking into it.

‘‘The ICC will look into who should make a decision on the match when it is abandoned due to misbehaviour by the crowd, and how it should be made.’’ Making his appeal, Procter said: ‘‘I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that from my perspective it is very important that people come to enjoy and watch the game. Ahmedabad had a great game, the way the crowd behaved there was fantastic,’’ Procter said, adding he hoped the crowd in Baroda would behave equally well.

Praising the Ahmedabad crowd, he said there were several stages when India looked like they would lose but despite that the massive crowd did nothing unruly. ‘‘There were over 50,000 people in Ahmedabad, and at several points India were under pressure and it seemed that West Indies would win, but still the crowd behaved in an fantastic manner,’’ he said. (Express News Service)

The West Indian captain must be wondering how many more runs they need to score to be able to beat India. No matter how much they score, India has managed to chase it. They scored exactly 300 in Rajkot, and India, before the match was abandoned due to crowd trouble, were fully in control of the chase at 200-1 in the 28th over. In Ahmedabad, chasing 325, though they lost important wickets at crucial stages, India still managed to win with five wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare.

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Sanjay Bangar’s hard-hitting batting was a revelation at Ahmedabad and it has solved at least one problem for India, of finding a genuine all-rounder for the World Cup. And with him coming in at No.7 and stroke players like Sehwag, Ganguly, Yuvraj and Kaif ahead of him, the Indian batting right now could rate as the best one-day line-up in the world.

Sehwag, who hammered an unbeaten 140 at Rajkot, is beginning to get a bit inconsistent and needs to repair that impression. Yuvraj, though he made a crucial 30-ball 30 in Ahmedabad, too is due for a big score.

The dangerman for India is obviously West Indian opener Chris Gayle, who, after failing in the first match in Jamshedpur, has come up with 103 in Nagpur, 72 in Rajkot and 140 in Ahmedabad. Getting him early will be half the battle won for India.

Both the teams are confident about their batting; Ganguly saying his boys are very confident coming into this match, having chased the huge toital in Ahmedabad and well on their way to it in Rajkot, and that the series is ‘‘still open’’, while Hooper too expressed confidence at their resurgent batting and said though India had come back strongly in the series, ‘‘We believe we can still win it.’’

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