Short story keeps Indians occupied

Thursday April 3, 02:32 AM

The Indian camp may not like to admit that they are taking the short-ball threat seriously, but they don't seem to be in the mood to take any chances. One day after South African coach Mickey Arthur said they would be targetting Virender Sehwag's rib-cage, the Indian opener, fresh off a record 319 on the placid Chennai pitch, said he wasn't too worried. "I am not taking Arthur's comment seriously," he said.

His captain echoed the same sentiment. "He's a great enough batsman to know how to handle it. He's capable of playing their attack," said Anil Kumble.

But it's quite evident that Sehwag isn't taking the possible barrage lightly. On the eve of the second Test, the Delhi batsman was seen practising with plastic balls targetted at his rib-cage for about 20 minutes. India's mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton was also seen talking to the batsman constantly. The objective was pretty clear - no one in the Indian camp wants the impulsive Sehwag to lose his calm.

And while there's always the possibility that South Africa are purely indulging in mind games, they remain confident of executing this plan. "We have reassessed things, worked on each batsman. And we are confident of putting the plans into action on the field efficiently," Graeme Smith said.

The South African skipper also said that after the Chennai Test, India had more worries than them. He was referring to the injuries of Sachin Tendulkar, who is out of the game due to a groin injury, and Anil Kumble. "India have got a few more things to think about. If Kumble doesn't play, it will be big loss to India. Sachin's absence will obviously pinch them. Yuvraj (Singh) is a proven player, but to fill in Sachin's shoes is a tall order. Besides, Yuvraj also has the pressure of not playing too well in Tests (recently)," Smith said.

Kumble confident

At least Kumble looked confident of his chances of playing on Thursday as he bowled and batted with ease. "There is a marked improvement. But I will take a final call tomorrow," said Kumble. The Chennai pitch had the Indian skipper fuming, but he refrained from making any comments on the Motera track. "I don't want to talk about that," said Kumble.

But his South African counterpart is happy with the track "I hope the wicket will produce a result. It looks good. There is a covering of grass on it. However, with the heat, it may become brown," he said.

The pitch at the Motera is known to assist spinners. In fact, the last Test played here got over in four days with spinners ruling the roost. But South Africa have ruled out picking two spinners. "We're comfortable with the same combination," Smith said.

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