Make hay while Gayle is still in the stands

With Chris Gayle waiting around the corner, Suresh Raina would like nothing more than to make sure that India is 2-0 up in the series by the time the West Indian makes his first appearance in the series. If then the series still ends 3-2, he can blame it on Gayle’s crazy brand of cricket – an approach that even the best bowlers had no answer to during the fourth season of the Indian Premier League. However, Gayle is not a Twenty20 wonder only; he has 19 centuries under his belt in One-Dayers with an average of 39.06. [caption id=“attachment_22006” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Chris Gayle’s brand of cricket has left even the best of bowlers perplexed.  AFP”]  [/caption] When the Indian skipper was asked about his views on Gayle’s absence, he couldn’t hide his joy. The question asked in real earnest was: Are you relieved or are you disappointed that Gayle isn’t playing? “To be honest I am a bit relieved at the moment,” Raina said. At least he was being honest. Because after having watched Gayle score 608 runs and single-handedly take the Bangalore Royal Challengers to the final, anything other than relief would have been an outright lie. With India’s seniors missing, both sides don’t have a star who can match up to brilliance of Gayle and if he gets going, then it could well be curtains for the young Indian side. There has already been talks of a patch-up between the West Indian Cricket Board and the big Jamaican and this could be India’s last chance to make the advantage count. The other player who the Indians would fear is Kieron Pollard and he is likely to get a go when the two sides meet in the second ODI on Wednesday. His bowling, fielding and batting add a new dimension to the West Indian outfit. India’s win in the first ODI wasn’t the most comprehensive but the manner in which the younger lot responded to responsibility would have given new coach Duncan Fletcher a lot of confidence. In many ways, Fletcher is dealing with the future of Indian cricket and this is where he’ll be making his picks. The four-wicket win in the first One-Dayer came after a wobbly start and the second-string Indian team would be aiming to plug the loopholes as the series progresses. The West Indian team played compact cricket but they weren’t cutting edge in any aspect. Their batting kept it together but they never quite managed to rotate the strike enough – they played no less than 29.2 overs in dot balls – and their bowling was economical but had little to force the Indians to try anything different. But if Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels can keep it together, we might see the confidence flow down to the rest of the batting line-up. India’s batting, on the other hands, seemed unsure and Parthiv Patel will need to get going at the top of the order. India’s strength remains its batting and the bunch of talented middle-order batsmen has enough class to win games on its own. But do they have the confidence too? Certainly, the motivation isn’t lacking. Right now, there is so little to separate the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina that if they can catch Fletcher’s eye, they could go a long way in this important year. The pace department led by Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar looked adept but perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea, given the slow nature of the pitch, to play all three spinners in Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin. Squads: West Indies: Darren Sammy (capt), Lendl Simmons, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Russell, Anthony Martin, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul. India: Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, Subramaniam Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ramachandran Ashwin, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma.