Defeat leaves Indians drained in more ways than one

By Our Special Correspondent

DHAKA, JUNE 2. Sunil Joshi was almost hospitalised on Thursday night after India's humiliating defeat against Sri Lanka.

The left-arm spinner from Karnataka was dehydrated and had to be put on drip, according to team coach Kapil Dev. ``I was very worried for him. In fact almost everyone had some problem or the other after the match because of the high humidity,'' said Kapil.

The Indians' poor fitness affected their overall performance. The bowling lacked bite and the fielders ran out of steam once they chased the ball. Even the Sri Lankans, fitter than the Indians, experienced similar problems with Sanath Jayasuriya complaining of breathlessness after taking those quick singles.

The Indian team headed for the pool upon reaching the hotel last night. ``It was very humid and the loss of sweat was very harmful,'' said Kapil, who was worried about India's match against Pakistan on Saturday.

``I know it is a crucial match and we are geared up. The only target we have is winning the match. There is no other escape route,'' he admitted.

The Indians have ruled out Joshi for the match against Pakistan. ``There was no way he could have played the match. He is just not physically fit to take the field after suffering so much last night. Joshi is out,'' Kapil added. Hemang Badani returns to the side for the match against Pakistan with no room once again for Nayan Mongia.

In Kapil's opinion, there was also no possibility of India indulging in any more experiments in terms of pinch-hitter. ``No more pinch-hitting,'' he conceded after the repeated failures of Joshi in that role. In any case, the concept of pinch-hitting has never clicked as far as India is concerned.

The Indian coach defended the move to ask Rahul Dravid to keep wickets in order to accommodate a batsman. ``I have no complaints against the bowlers because batting has been our main strength. We didn't bat well at all,'' he said.

The move to thrust the wicketkeeper's responsibility on Dravid only resulted in the batsman losing concentration when batting because of fatigue. Kapil, when pressed for his reaction, admitted he was not averse to changing the batting order again with Dravid listed at number six.

Kapil supported the idea of pressing Mohammad Azharuddin at number three. ``He is the most experienced batsman and once he gets going I still believe there is none in the business to match Azhar. He may have a lot to contribute in a key situation,'' noted the Indian coach.

Stressing the need to bat better against Pakistan, Kapil welcomed the idea of throwing Badani into the deep end. If he is good he will swim. ``Hemang is a wonderful striker of the ball. He is a very clean hitter and a very good prospect in my opinion. There is a place for him and he deserves to play,'' he said of the young Tamil Nadu batsman, who made a good debut but became a victim of some needless innovations by the team management.

The mediocre bowling was another worry for Kapil but then there were no ready remedies. The best, according to the team management, was here. One could add that among those left behind, none would make much difference given the state of the pitches and the most unkind weather conditions.

India has a lot at stake in the match against Pakistan. A virtual knockout stage for India since only a victory can keep the team in with a chance. An eye will have to be kept on the run-rate just in case there is be a three-way tie.

For India to improve, the bowlers will have to shape up, not to speak of the batsmen. Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Azharuddin and Dravid have the calibre to pull it off but much depends on how Ajit Agarkar spearheads the attack. He will be a key figure because of his ability to pick wickets even though the skipper still places faith in Anil Kumble to produce a matchwinning effort.

The batsman the Indians fear most is Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has shown tremendous form. The presence of young strokemaker Imran Nazir is another nightmare the Indians would have to contend with. Pakistan has a fabulous batting line-up where Yousuf Youhana lends a touch of class to the middle order. More bad news for the Indian bowlers would be Saeed Anwar's failure against Bangladesh. He would now be a hard batsman to contain as he returns from a lay off forced by injury. The sight of Wasim Akram will mean greater demands on skills and concentration.

A full house is expected in this key contest which is expected to produce some explosive action.

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