da esoccer bet： Despite a number of trials and experimentation, a specialist openingpair in Tests has eluded India for a long time now and is a majorworry in an otherwise formidable batting line-up
da betsson： 18-Jun-2001Despite a number of trials and experimentation, a specialist openingpair in Tests has eluded India for a long time now and is a majorworry in an otherwise formidable batting line-up.With Shiv Sunder Das performing consistently, half of that problemseems to be over. But the other half remains. And that is the mainworry for the Indians ahead of a long season.The reluctance to continue with Sadagoppan Ramesh, the only specialistopener apart from Das, was evident when his state mate Hemang Badaniwas tried in the three-day match against CFX Academy.Badani, who showed promise in that match, had to wait for the secondTest when a stiff back and lack of faith by the team management sawRamesh sitting out. But the experiment with him lasted just oneinnings and six balls. Badani was out for two in the first innings ofthe match.On Sunday, wicket-keeper Samir Dighe was asked to open the secondinnings and he too failed, prolonging India’s agony in this vitaldepartment.With coach John Wright and manager Chetan Chauhan being accomplishedopeners of their time with a combined experience of 122 Tests, theirony only gets magnified.Former greats feel the slot needs to be filled by specialists only andmakeshift openers are no solution.”Opening the innings is quite different,” says Sunil Gavaskar, one ofthe greatest openers of all time. “You never get a night watchman atan opener’s slot, do you? Even if it is only 10 minutes of the day’splay left and a team is starting its innings, the regular openers arethe ones who come out to bat,” he said.With no outstanding talent available on the domestic front, there is afeeling within the management that a partner for Das has to beselected from within the current team.One of the choices before the management is vice-captain Rahul Dravidwho has the right technique and enough experience to face the new ballbowlers on fast and bouncy pitches outside the sub-continent. Dravidhas opened the innings on a few occasions with mixed success.”I will bat at whatever position my team asks me to,” Dravid had saidafter his unbeaten 68 in the second innings of the first Test inBulawayo. But the stylish right-hander from Karnataka, who by instinctis a number three batsman and has played many a brilliant knock inthat position could not give a satisfactory answer on Sunday.”Sorry, I can’t answer this question,” Dravid said when asked whetherhe was ready to come as an opener. “There are quite a few things wediscuss in the dressing room and we can’t share it all with themedia.”With VVS Laxman having virtually sealed the No 3 spot, he too cannotbe sent as an opener now.Wright said the experiments will continue for more time. “The thingabout this game is flexibility. We did so in Kolkata (second Testagainst Australia) when we were following on exchanging the numberthree and six slots,” he said.For the Indian team it seems it would be a case of experiment,experiment, experiment till an opener is discovered.
