Points to Ponder - ahead of B'lore ODI

Bangalore ODI – Factors to ponder for Indian think tank

Having done the tactical hara-kiri of not preparing dust bowls or atleast spinning tracks, India are left with few options but if I was in RD’s shoes, these are the factors to ponder :

• If India bat first, the crucial number 3 spot should now go to Pathan. It is inevitable that one of Shewag or Sachin will fall early since SA new ball attack is no pushover and neither of them are looking great to give a great start. There is absolutely no point in sending Kaif and in my opinion no point playing him too. India needs a 300+ total and he is not the man for it.
• Make full use of Yuvarj against SA. This will mean that he has to bat at 4. He is the best player (after RD) against real pace and his usual tormentors of spinners are not there. He can score briskly and champion the entire innings without a letup.
  
• If India bowl first, they need to watch 3 important things – a)get Kemp out early (he can be destructive..a 250 score at the end of 46 can become 310 at the end of 50 and AA’s dollies have to picked up from MG Road nearby). b) Irfan has to watch his bowling. He is giving too many runs in the opening overs and of course bucketful later. c) The largesse of the extras should be dispensed with.
• The middle overs will take care of themselves with Bhajji and Karthik bowling. This is perhaps the last chance for Karthik to come good since a failure here will mean that he won’t play at Chennai and for all practical purposes..that should be that. Very rarely, there are come back chances in Indian cricket. (Dada knows this too well and hence he is making the right kind of noises these days. The Mohinder like record come back days are long gone. Check out the long list of crickets who have played a handful of ODIs and tests and have gone into oblivion). In tests, Kumble will be back and the understudy extra spot in 14 will go to either Mishra or Chawla and not Karthik.
• India should not drop its head, if things do not go as per plan. They need a plan B and even a plan C.
  

My prediction - a hard fought Indian win since more things are at stake for India rather than SA.

The next 2 ODIs is going to decide the fate of Indian cricket for the next decade. RD and GC better watch out !!