Howzzat!

aussies dream a final frontier capture...

...The cricket caravan has moved to nagpur. This is the last chance for the indians to come back into this series. They would , no doubt , be buoyed by the fact that that their master batsman is back. Still, the aussies hold a definite upper hand. They are 1 - 0 up in the series and a win here will seal it tight for them. So the pressure is again on the indians to win it here if they are to open the doors of a series victory.

Ganguly definitely has problems , the least of which is coming up with the playing eleven on tuesday. Sachin is coming in. Someone has to move out. The problem is not because everyone has performed wonderfully but because no one (2 exceptions of sehwag and kaif) has come good with the bat , so far. But no captain can think of removing players like laxman or dravid. Yuvraj will most probably be dreading the axe. Axing yuvi creates a new dilema. A dilema that originated post gavaskar : The eternal search for an opener. Ganguly may fall to patel (i am shocked that he is playing , in the first place). Then there wouldnt be any changes in the team , at least in the batsmen. By some miracle , if ganguly's faith in akash chopra gets a boost (he deserves better treatment), then a second head goes to the guillotine. That would be kaif - 9 out of ten times.

Now , i ask a question that would appear blasphemous - Should sachin play this match? This wondering is purely from a health point of view. One obvious fact that i spotted during tendulkar's press conferences is that he is still not 100 percent fit. His treatment is being hurried to get him into the team for the third test. Thats insanity. First of all , it could be dangerous for him. Second , he cant give the team 100 percent. It paints a picture of panic and helplessness in the indian camp and sends the wrong message to the opponents....

posted by Tyagarajan S @ 2:17:00 AM