Border-Gavaskar Trophy in bag, India eye WTC final berth

Express News Service

INDORE:  When the original itinerary landed for the series, the venue for the third Test grabbed eyeballs. The picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala was going to be the setting, with the snow-capped mountains forming a spectacular backdrop.

However, with the work on the relaid outfield not progressing on expected lines, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had no option but to move it. That’s how Indore got the right to stage the third Test. Even though India may have wrapped the Border-Gavasakar Trophy for another cycle (as they are the current holders, they will retain it), there is still a lot riding on this and the last Test in Ahmedabad.

If the hosts win at the Holkar Stadium, they can rubber stamp their entry into the second World Test Championship final, to be staged in England in June. With the surface at The Oval expected to be vastly different, India may look at the option of staging a dress rehearsal of sorts.

“There is definitely a possibility of that,” skipper Rohit Sharma said when quizzed on the possibility of requesting a green top for the Ahmedabad Test. “We have already spoken about it. We need to get the guys ready for it. The important one is Shardul Thakur (he’s the side’s preferred all-rounder in overseas conditions), because he comes into the planning for us. We don’t know how ready he is since he just got married. We don’t know how many overs he has bowled. But that thought process is definitely there. If we do what we do here and get the result we want, we might think of doing something different in Ahmedabad for sure,” he added during the pre-match press conference.

Staying in Indore, India may look at the option of opening with Shubman Gill in place of KL Rahul. While Sharma didn’t give anything away, if Tuesday’s optional training session was anything to go by, it looks like Gill has had a quiet word in his ear. He spent more than one hour inside multiple nets facing a variety of bowling types (Rahul opted to skip the session).

Barring fitness issues, the other 10 players pick themselves. With the pitch expected to play on similar lines — the fuller lengths on both areas of the strip was dry with the centre of the wicket having some grass on match eve — there is no reason to move away from the existing plans.  

For the visitors, though, it couldn’t be more different. They arrived in India with a bunch of plans but they have, willingly or otherwise, been forced to throw most of them into the nearest bin. Regular captain, Pat Cummins, is back home as his mother is in palliative care. Second spinner when the tour began, Ashton Agar, has left home to play domestic cricket after falling down the pecking order. Two other spinners have been capped for the first time when both weren’t expected to feature. Opener David Warner is also back home, nursing a broken elbow. Matt Renshaw has gone from an early bolter to the naughty step inside six days. They also fell into the trap of the sweep shot — a poisoned chalice at the best of times — and got bowled out in under 40 overs in New Delhi.
 
Need to stick to our plans: Smith
They can ill-afford another collapse. Not just because that will mean surrendering the series. They need one positive result (win or a draw) from the remaining two Tests to qualify for the WTC final. So, what can they do to raise an admittedly low bar. Stand-in skipper, Steve Smith, said they had to stick to their plans.

“For us, it’s about sticking to our plans and methods for long periods of time,” he said on Tuesday. “In the second innings in Delhi, a lot of us went away from our plans and got undone by them. We can hopefully apply pressure on the spinners and post good totals on the board. That’s key for us. Hopefully, we can put that into practice in the middle and execute under pressure.”

Multiple batters — including Smith — perished to the sweep when some of them don’t even count on it all that much. In this context, it was fascinating to watch their training session. Most of them stayed away from their sweep while Smith preferred using his feet.

Can they successfully do that during the match? It could be the difference between another one-sided contest or an engaging one.   

<br /> INDORE:  When the original itinerary landed for the series, the venue for the third Test grabbed eyeballs. The picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala was going to be the setting, with the snow-capped mountains forming a spectacular backdrop.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>However, with the work on the relaid outfield not progressing on expected lines, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had no option but to move it. That’s how Indore got the right to stage the third Test. Even though India may have wrapped the Border-Gavasakar Trophy for another cycle (as they are the current holders, they will retain it), there is still a lot riding on this and the last Test in Ahmedabad.</p> <p>If the hosts win at the Holkar Stadium, they can rubber stamp their entry into the second World Test Championship final, to be staged in England in June. With the surface at The Oval expected to be vastly different, India may look at the option of staging a dress rehearsal of sorts.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“There is definitely a possibility of that,” skipper Rohit Sharma said when quizzed on the possibility of requesting a green top for the Ahmedabad Test. “We have already spoken about it. We need to get the guys ready for it. The important one is Shardul Thakur (he’s the side’s preferred all-rounder in overseas conditions), because he comes into the planning for us. We don’t know how ready he is since he just got married. We don’t know how many overs he has bowled. But that thought process is definitely there. If we do what we do here and get the result we want, we might think of doing something different in Ahmedabad for sure,” he added during the pre-match press conference.</p> <p>Staying in Indore, India may look at the option of opening with Shubman Gill in place of KL Rahul. While Sharma didn’t give anything away, if Tuesday’s optional training session was anything to go by, it looks like Gill has had a quiet word in his ear. He spent more than one hour inside multiple nets facing a variety of bowling types (Rahul opted to skip the session).</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Barring fitness issues, the other 10 players pick themselves. With the pitch expected to play on similar lines — the fuller lengths on both areas of the strip was dry with the centre of the wicket having some grass on match eve — there is no reason to move away from the existing plans.  </p> <p>For the visitors, though, it couldn’t be more different. They arrived in India with a bunch of plans but they have, willingly or otherwise, been forced to throw most of them into the nearest bin. Regular captain, Pat Cummins, is back home as his mother is in palliative care. Second spinner when the tour began, Ashton Agar, has left home to play domestic cricket after falling down the pecking order. Two other spinners have been capped for the first time when both weren’t expected to feature. Opener David Warner is also back home, nursing a broken elbow. Matt Renshaw has gone from an early bolter to the naughty step inside six days. They also fell into the trap of the sweep shot — a poisoned chalice at the best of times — and got bowled out in under 40 overs in New Delhi.<br />  Need to stick to our plans: Smith<br /> They can ill-afford another collapse. Not just because that will mean surrendering the series. They need one positive result (win or a draw) from the remaining two Tests to qualify for the WTC final. So, what can they do to raise an admittedly low bar. Stand-in skipper, Steve Smith, said they had to stick to their plans.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“For us, it’s about sticking to our plans and methods for long periods of time,” he said on Tuesday. “In the second innings in Delhi, a lot of us went away from our plans and got undone by them. We can hopefully apply pressure on the spinners and post good totals on the board. That’s key for us. Hopefully, we can put that into practice in the middle and execute under pressure.”</p> <p>Multiple batters — including Smith — perished to the sweep when some of them don’t even count on it all that much. In this context, it was fascinating to watch their training session. Most of them stayed away from their sweep while Smith preferred using his feet.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Can they successfully do that during the match? It could be the difference between another one-sided contest or an engaging one.   <br />