KOLKATA: The hype over Sachin Tendulkar's impending ton of tons is understandable. But such is its intensity that it's threatening to relegate the event proper to the backseat. There is, after all, a Test match to be contested at the Eden Gardens from Monday, involving 21 other cricketers, and a series still not sealed by the favourites on their home turf.
By MS Dhoni's own admission, the 5-wicket win in the first Test was anything but perfect. So there is work to be done if India are to come up with a more convincing performance and clinch their first series after that nightmarish 0-4 whitewash in England. Lesson No. 1 to be learnt from Kotla is for the batsmen to apply themselves better and ensure that there's no repeat of the first-innings disaster, which could have cost them the match had debutant Ravichandran Ashwin not run through the West Indies second innings.
If the sight of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir batting in tandem with their customary fluency was reassuring, they will also be well-advised to be mindful of basics like backing up and grounding the bat behind the crease while running between the wickets,
Yuvraj Singh has Virat Kohli breathing down his neck after two more wasted chances at the Kotla. With the Australia tour looming, Yuvi will surely be feeling the pressure to deliver at the Eden. In Sachin's case, though, it's the burden of a billion expectations that he's trying to cope with, and the only way to come out of such choking pressure is to get the 100th hundred out of the way soonest. If the Eden track turns out to be a low and slow turner, as it has been over the past couple of seasons, it will be a real challenge for Sachin to graft for runs, given his new-found desire to play freely.
Spinners should play a major role and the fact that newly-married Ashwin will go into the match without a single practice session between the two Test matches could be a worrying thought for the team management.
The hosts would also have realized that this West Indies side is not the pushover many expected them to be. They may not have the flamboyant Chris Gayle or the solid Ramnaresh Sarwan in their ranks, but another old warhorse Shivnarine Chanderpaul is relishing the role of carrying the youngish batting line-up on his shoulders. Always the one to value his wicket, this 136-Test veteran has been scoring more freely and finding the fence more regularly, making him doubly dangerous.
If Chanderpaul is the biggest thorn for Dhoni & Co, the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo have the talent to complement the senior pro's lead role. The more experienced Marlon Samuels has been a bit of an enigma, and needs to put his hand up and be counted if the young brigade gets sucked into the web of spin.
Having felt the absence of a second specialist spinner at Kotla, the West Indies have all but decided to field offie Shane Shillingford at Eden, at pacer Ravi Rampaul's expense. "Though there is some grass, we feel it will be a slow pitch... we are considering the option of playing Shillingford," skipper Darren Sammy informed.
Playing a fifth bowler, like the pacy Kemar Roach, is not in their plans. The captain, thus, will have to share the new ball with the lively Fidel Edwards, and though he has the knack of picking up wickets regularly, the West Indian attack looks a bit thin. Taking the relative strengths and weaknesses into account, it's advantage India.
