Trouble in Team India: Openers struggling, spin in a mess

Roseau (Dominica): They’d like us to believe that the Indian team has done wonderfully well in the West Indies. And well, if you look at the performances of the unheralded fast bowlers, perhaps they have. But then turn an eye towards the way some of the younger batsmen have batted and you realise there is cause for worry, especially on a track that is expected to be just as fast and bouncy as the one in Barbados. India leads the series 1-0 and a loss would see a below-strength West Indies team end up with a tied series. Opener Murali Vijay has aggregated 22 runs (5.50 avg) from the four innings of two matches, Kohli has done no better than 46 runs (11.50), Abhinav Mukund has managed 85 runs in four innings at 21.25 and even though Dhoni was at the receiving end of two bad decisions, he has managed to score only 23 runs at 5.75 average from the series. [caption id=“attachment_36701” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“India’s coach Duncan Fletcher, left, talks with Virat Kohli during a training session in preparation for the third cricket Test match against the West Indies in Roseau, Dominica, Monday, July 4 , 2011. Lynne Sladky/AP”]  [/caption] That’s four main batsmen gone without contributing anything and if it hadn’t been for veterans Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina, India might have been in some very serious trouble. No wonder when Dravid walked onto the ground, he almost instantly recognised that the third Test was going to be anything but easy. “The two tracks (in the series) have been the toughest I have played on in my four trips (to the Caribbean),” claimed Dravid ahead of the final Test starting here tomorrow. “From what I believe, this pitch too would have pace and bounce.” Pace and bounce are never a good combination for India — because suddenly everyone is vulnerable; because you never quite know when even the veterans will fall. But the conditions also help a team like the West Indies get back into the equation. If a batting beauty is rolled out, India will in all probability bat West Indies out of the match. But sprinkle a little grass and rain and suddenly all the batsmen seem fidgety. It hasn’t helped India’s cause that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, still two short of reaching 400 wickets in Test cricket, is having a bad tour as well. He has claimed five wickets at 35.60 average from the two Tests. Among all the Indian bowlers who’ve rolled their arm over, his average is the worst. And this is on tracks that are turning and bouncing. For Dhoni, replacing the out-of-form batsmen may seem like a very obvious thing to do. Both Murali and Virat have already been dropped for the England tour. But when you look at the options on offer, one wonders if he would really like to do that. Parthiv Patel and Subramaniam Badrinath will probably be the batsmen that Dhoni will look at but then both these players haven’t had a knock in the middle since the ODIs and now, they will be expected to find form straightaway. Badrinath played two Tests against South Africa at home 16 months ago and aggregated 63 runs (21.00 avg). Patel, on the other hand, last played a Test against Sri Lanka three years ago. The only solace for the Indians is that the West Indies are perhaps in a bigger batting mess. But towards the end of the second Test, there was some hope in the way that Darren Bravo batted. Marlon Samuels was good in the first innings as well and even though Shivnarine Chanderpaul hasn’t really had any long stints in the middle, he has looked solid. With Ramnaresh Sarwan getting the drop, youngsters Kirk Edwards and Kieran Powell might just make a difference. The former has the reputation to bat for long hours and the latter an attacking young colt — qualities which are presently sorely missing in the present West Indian batting line-up. The strength for the West Indies is definitely the bowling and it shocking how their skipper Darren Sammy is managing to hold on to a spot in the line-up. He’s averaging 38.20 with just 5 wickets to boot. And he’s managing to stay in the XI when they have a bowler of Kemar Roach’s pace and class sitting on the outside. If Fidel Edwards’ success (13 wickets at 19.84) is any indication at all, the Indians don’t like pace. So shouldn’t the West Indies be throwing more of that their way? Squads: West Indies: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Kieran Powell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons. India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt-wk), Abhinav Mukund, Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma. Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Richard Kettleborough (England) With inputs from PTI