Spinners will play key role |
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Friday April 11, 01:05 AM
It’s easy to understand the pressure Indians are under. They let fans down in Ahmedabad and the din of dissent and disapproval since then has only grown. That is typical Indian sentiment.
That quite a few cricketers face injury worries doesn’t ease the pressure. There is life beyond the Kanpur Test for them. They will be worried if fitness comes between them and the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Such must also be the concern of their employers who don’t want to be caught napping in case a few of their key players don’t show up. Kanpur thus is of greater interest for more than one reason.
The early images of the Green Park pitch amply convey the anxiety of the hosts. It looks abrasive, it has cracks and this when the start of the Test was still some 48 hours away. The tell-tale signs only add to the drama: The chairman of the pitches committee has parked himself in Kanpur for a few days now and newspapers have reported that water hasn’t been put on the parched surface since the premature end of the Ahmedabad Test last week. Interesting, very interesting.
So it’s a battle of the spinners: three of the Indians vs two of the Proteas. With or without Anil Kumble, India still would like to go with three tweakers. Sourav Ganguly, in that case, must dust off his bowling shoes for he could be asked to share the new ball with Ishant Sharma. I also suspect Yuvraj Singh could get a break in this game.
TCM
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