03/07/2009

India - West Indies 2009- Gambhir and the bowlers have to find form.

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3rd Digicel ODI, Beausejour Ground, St Lucia

Having surrendered their lead by losing the 2nd ODI to the West Indies, the Indians find themselves under pressure to win the 3rd match. A loss here will make the 4th and final ODI on Sunday more crucial.

Ideally, the Indians would want to win this match and ensure that they do not lose the series, but can they do it?

One fervently wish they do, because firstly, despite some resurgence the West Indies are inconsistent in their performance and secondly, the Indian batting is still powerful.

Obviously, when one speaks of Indian batting, Yuvraj looms large. His batting in the shorter formats has become the catalyst for Indian victories and a wicket that the opposition believes opens the floodgates. Thankfully, he is in form and after the failure in the 2nd ODI he will be primed for a big innings.

Apart from him, Dinesh Kaarthick has carried his IPL form. The reason for India faltering in the ICC World Twenty20 and now in this series can be put down to his partner Gautam Gambhir's sudden loss of form. Frankly, his inability to impose himself as his wont in the opening overs has put pressure on young Rohit Sharma and others who follow.

In order to win this ODI, Gambhir has to find form and one believes the impetus of his batting will straighten out the other chinks in the Indian batting line up. However, to dictate terms, the Indian bowlers have to find their sting. With R.P Singh and Ashish Nehra, warily finding their way back to International cricket the onus is on Harbhajan Singh. Sadly, he is coasting on his past performances.

In short, if India is to beat West Indies then Gambhir and the Indian bowlers have to impose themselves.

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2 comments:

straight point said...

playing ojha instead of jadeja...and badri ahead of rohit won't hurt india's chances either... :)

Viswanathan said...

Pan,

If I were to make a change, then it would be Ojha replacing Harbhajan.

I believe both Rohit and Jadeja will come good in this match.