Sport - Cricket

The pieces are falling in place for India

Melbourne: Having qualified for the CB series finals with an authoritative win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday the belief in the Indian camp is that the pieces are finally falling in place. The Indian team reached Sydney on Wednesday and will have three more days of rest ahead of the first final at the SCG on Sunday.

The Aussies, after Friday’s match against Sri Lanka here, will have just a day’s breather, some of which will be spent travelling to Sydney.

Sachin Tendulkar’s return to form is good news for the Indian camp. More than the runs he made at Hobart, the manner in which the maestro made the runs was heartening.

However, the second half of the opening problem remains. So much so that Mahendra Singh Dhoni said if the side wanted to retain five bowlers and have Robin Uthappa lower down the order, it could open with either Irfan Pathan or Praveen Kumar.

Pathan, with limited success, has been tried as an opener in the ODIs. Praveen has walked in at the top of the order in domestic competitions but the Aussie attack is a different proposition.

The composition of the attack will also demand attention. Dhoni indicated that the team-management played five bowlers against the Lankans since the Indian batting had performed well against the islanders.

In other words, he suggested such a ploy might not be attempted against Australia’s formidable attack.

Swing bowler S. Sreesanth was preferred against Australia. Munaf Patel, a seamer, was picked for the crucial games against the Lankans.

The Indians have played horses for courses.

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