In the dock at Southampton

Team India face crisis in picking playing XI for 2nd ODI.

The England team ended their pre-match training with one of those innovative batting drills that modern coaches develop to ward off boredom among their players during net sessions. It was a big hit contest,with the squad divided into two teams. The objective was to loft the ball,thrown at them from the non-striker’s end,high and far into the V. Like footballers during a penalty shootout,a crowd of men in England training gear waited for their turn to clear long on or long off.

The sight of 15 England batsmen padded up on the central square,consistently launching the ball out of the arena,perfectly summed up the numerical advantage the home team enjoyed over India. Alastair Cook,Craig Kieswetter,Ian Bell,Ravi Bopara,Eoin Morgan,Ben Stokes,Jonathan Trott,plus all-rounders Graeme Swann,Stuart Broad,Samit Patel and Tim Bresnan happen to be the eleven with proven batting credentials. Cook can afford to weigh the opposition and indulge in a horses for courses selection policy. In stark contrast,the Indian squad seemed like an amateurish outfit of part-timers,with the captain spending most of the day before the weekend game wondering if he has the bare minimum required to take the field.

This was the result of the latest withdrawal. Minutes before the team took the bus to the stadium,news trickled in that Sachin Tendulkar’s big toe needed four to six weeks of rest. The fears expressed after the opening ODI had come true. India would now have just six batsmen in the touring party,with replacements Ravindra Jadeja,Manoj Tiwary and S Badrinath yet to arrive. After the T20 game last week,Dhoni lamented about the missing fifth bowler. Now the search has extended to finding a seventh batsman.

Few solutions,fewer players

This scarcity has forced India to consider going in with five bowlers. With just 13 Indian players stepping out of the team bus,it was a toss-up between leggie Amit Mishra and pacers Varun Aaron and RP Singh for the fifth bowler slot on Tuesday. Since the pitch at the Rose Bowl is expected to provide bounce,either of the quicker men could make the cut,but Mishra could also stake a claim thanks to his sturdy batting during the final Test at the Oval.

But there is still a remote chance for Dhoni & Co to go in with their favourite 7 batters,4 bowlers combination,if they explore the possibility of a compromise. For that,though,the management will have to take a tough call on Tuesday morning,after factoring in Tiwary’s jet lag. The Bengal batsman lands at Heathrow airport at around 7.45 am and since the journey from London to Southampton takes about a couple of hours,he could technically make it in time to be included in the playing XI.

Before the Tests,the Indian players had complained about not getting enough time to acclimatise to the local conditions. Now,one of them might get just a few hours to adjust to the pace,bounce,temperature and surroundings. Can Tiwary hit the ground running after an 8-hour flight? He has been asked a very similar question in the past.

During his short stint with the Indian team,which has seen him play three ODIs,Tiwary is remembered for two things. On his first tour with the team to Bangladesh,he injured his shoulder on the eve of the match and returned home. Later,in 2008,he was rushed to Australia as an injury replacement in an uncannily similar situation to this call-up. It seemed unfair when a drowsy looking Tiwary took guard against Brett Lee. It didn’t surprise many when a Lee toe-crusher sneaked through before the jet-lagged boy could bring his bat down. So one cant rule a déjà vu moment out in case Tiwary walks in all padded up.

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But all the pre-match debates can prove meaningless since heavy rains are expected here on Tuesday. Locals say that there is a possibility that the game might even be abandoned without a ball being bowled. About an hour after the England camp had completed their longish net session with the big hit contest,the Indian team was getting ready to get a feel of Southamptons ground. Praveen Kumar had started to bowl,Suresh Raina was batting,Parthiv Patel was putting on his pads and Dhoni had just stepped out of the dressing room. That’s when the heavens opened. “Iss ki hi kami thi (This was the only thing missing),” the skipper said,before taking a U-turn back towards the indoor nets.

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