Sport Today

After several months of anticipation India's first
real WC match begins tonight. With the way we played
Holland, some us of can argue that Holland was
India's first real test :-)

The weather prediction is as follows:

Feels Like      : 84 o
Dewpoint        : 59o
Barometer       : 29.94 in and falling
Wind            : NW 5 mph
Humidity        : 42%
Visibility      : Unlimited

Today: Light rain...with scattered thunderstorms
        by afternoon. High 81F. Winds light and
        variable. Chance of rain 60%.

It is possible that we may get a *rain* shortened match
and the Duckworth Lewis rules may come into effect.
Historically, we have never done well in these situations.
So far the 7 + 4 format sounds like a logical choice
on these pitches. Both Kumble and Harbhajan are in
excellent form and in high scoring situations they
have good economy rates. The pitch will be hard and bouncy
the ball coming on to bat, Brett Lee and Gillespie can
be easy to score against.

I would pick Kumble over Agarkar as a specialist
bowler and keep Agarkar away till the super six
stage. That way we can give Kaif, Kumble and
Mongia enough chances to determine their form.
So far Kumble has been impressive against
Holland and is a safer choice with his E/R till we
reach the super six stage. Kumble is a better choice
if the pitch is full of runs or a slower one we had
against Holland.

The team remains the same:

Ganguly Sachin Shewag Dravid Yuvraj Kaif Mongia
Srinath Khan Kumble Harbhajan

I don't think India needs a 5th bowler as a specialist
because Symonds played once in a lifetime innings.
Yes, Ganguly and Sachin should open. They are the most
experienced pair who can determine the pace of the
wicket. I don't consider Shewag as the *big* gun of the
Indian ODI batting yet. Only Sachin and Ganguly can do the
140 n.o innings in 120 balls and Shewag is still
maturing into that role in his first WC. Facing
McGrath early for the first time in a WC for Shewag
is a bit too risky. Shewag is never been tested against
McGrath and Lee and I would use Ganguly because of his
140 in Australia.

Regards

Nikhil

Thanks for the pitch report.

Would somebody tell Ganguly, if the ball doesnt come upto the bat, he has
to take the bat to the ball. :-)

No need to worry. Centurion is one of the bouncier pitches in South
Africa, where the slowest pitch is probably too fast for India. The
Aussies have McGrath, Gillespie and Lee, all of whom hit the deck fairly
hard and at least a couple of whom can be genuinely quick.

This is one game in which there is no need to worry that the ball will not
come upto the bat. It will come up - maybe too far "up" for Ganguly's
comfort - and come up quickly. The question won't be whether Ganguly can
take the bat to the ball but whether he can take it out of the way of the
ball and do so fast enough.

Interesting article, BTW, at
http://www.rediff.com/wc2003/2003/feb/14india.htm

Ganguly has everyone in suspense as to what the positions of Sehwag,
Tendulkar and himself in the batting order will be. I hope the players
themselves know. I think it's a good idea to keep everyone - including the
opponents - guessing, as long as the players themselves know. Ganguly is a
shrewd chap. :-) He says something vis-a-vis strategy whereas his actions
reveal something else, keeping all observers guessing. Says he's going to
open and then has Sehwag/Tendulkar play the pacers whilst he himself faces
up to the spinners in the nets.

-Samarth [ also likely to be a lot of moisture in the air and on the
pitch, based on the weather forecast ].