THE REALITY CHECK – After a demoralising loss to South Africa, Indian will be desperate for two points today against the West Indies. In fact, both the teams will aim for victory to end the group stages on a high. India’s much vaunted ODI unit has been found wanting at times against stronger opponents. Cases in point: the tied against England, and losing to the Proteas.
The Indians are expected to make two changes: Suresh Raina coming in for Yusuf Pathan and R Ashwin replacing Ashish Nehra. And India will also like their spin ace Harbhajan Singh to do better than he has so far in terms of attacking. Bowling round the wicket has hampered Harbhajan’s wicket taking chances. In batting, master batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been the leading light for India and he will once again be expected to produce a big knock. Lack of decent contributions from Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni has also not helped India’s cause.
The West Indies meanwhile have six points from five games, because they too didn’t win against top sides, South Africa and England – providing a lifeline to the latter by crumbling when the tide was with them. The Caribbeans will be anxious for a win as it will mean a slightly easier quarterfinal opponent. In batting, Chris Gayle is due for a big one, and not a mere 50-odd which he did against England. Also the West Indians should look at bringing back Shivnarine Chanderpaul to hold the innings together.
The pitch is expected to spin, making the West Indies go in with two spinners – Suleiman Benn and Devendra Bishoo. While Benn has been amongst the wickets in this event, Bishoo was impressive against England. Kemar Roach and Andre Russell are also bowling well. Spinners have done well in the recent games at Chennai so there can be a lot of spin on offer, an area on which the Indians can capitalise not only with the ball but with the bat too. The Indians in any case seem to be better resourced than the Calypsos, but the latter are an unpredictable side that on its day can surprise anyone.
Form Guide & Conditions – India has won only 38 off the 95 games between the two sides, with the West Indies winning 54. With the prospect of a slow and low pitch, the conditions in Chennai will aid India more. Since batting second time round becomes a touch difficult, the team winning the toss will prefer batting first.
Watch Out For – With two hundreds in the tournament already, Tendulkar’s insatiable quest for runs remains undimmed. In this form, he could turn out to be a threat for the West Indies too. Roach is a genuine quick and with 13 wickets in five games, he will be the one to watch out for. The Indians are suspect against super fast pace, and this makes Roach a difficult proposition.
Who Wins – Given their desperation, resourcefulness, partisan crowd and helpful conditions, smart money should be on India.
Likely Playing Elevens
India: Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj, Dhoni (wk), Y Pathan/Raina, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Nehra/Ashwin, Patel
West Indies: Gayle, D Smith, Bravo, Sarwan, Pollard, Sammy, Thomas (wk), Russell, Benn, Roach, Bishoo.
