An Uneven Battle in Nagpur

By Anil
February 28 2006

Mountainous odds confront an English side wracked by injuries and withdrawals, faced with the prospect of playing on one of the driest pitches seen in Nagpur against two of the world's best spinners.

England captain Michael Vaughan and vice-captain Marcus Trescothick returned home last week, just prior to the start of the series against India, taking the air out of already deflated expectations from their Ashes win.

Simon Jones, considered the best paceman for the visitors, turned his knee and dropped out as well. Kevin Petersen as well as Paul Collingwood have been under an injury cloud although they are likely to be included in the starting lineup along with an unlikely newbie captain in Freddie Flintoff.

This cannot help coming right after a thumping 3-day defeat at the hands of an inexperienced Board 11, by a margin of 8 wickets, on a pitch that looked far more attractive than the bald brown one awaiting them at Nagpur, threatening to turn square.

Already suspect against spin, a batting lineup stripped of all its experience must now face Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh at home. England's own spin attack, after Giles was ruled out due to injury, will consist of Ian Blackwell and Shaun Udal, who should be meat and drink to the Indian batting lineup.

If there is any ghost of a hope for England, it is that the inherent bounce of the Nagpur pitch after it was relaid recently with 30 inches of brick instead of the usual 15, will provide some assistance to Harmison and Flintoff. Also, that the extreme dryness of the pitch will assist reverse swing early on, a skill that the English pacemen seem to have picked up lately.

India will field a new opening partner for Virender Sehwag in Wasim Jaffer, given yet another chance in Test cricket based on domestic performance. They will be followed by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Dhoni and Irfan Pathan: a powerful lineup that will present an intimidating and demoralizing look to the visitors.

If India decides to play 3 spinners in the presence of allrounder Irfan Pathan, 17-year old prodigy Piyush Chawla will bowl alongside Kumble and Harbhajan. The pace attack is likely to see Sreesanth providing support to Pathan.

On paper, there can be only one result to this match. The more interesting angles will be the performance of promising players like Chawla and Jaffer, and the prospects of aggressive innings from Sehwag and Dhoni. Like Pathan before him, Chawla makes it into the squad after impressive performances in the U-19 World Cup.

Flintoff, who makes his captaincy debut in this tour, had made his Test debut the last time England visited these shores. As the key player for his side, it will be crucial that his individual performance is not affected by his new responsibilities.

For the Indians, it is important that they provide spectator interest in the face of such uneven odds. It should be unnecessary for any of the batsmen to go into a prolonged shell, and victory in style should be the watchword.