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Bridgetown: The Indian team earned itself a nice and well-deserved rest with back-to-back victories over the weekend; however, the players were up and on their toes by the time the Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe encounter got under way in faraway Guyana.
After all, the victors there will surface on the Indians' path on May 11, in what could well turn out be a crucial battle for a semifinal spot in the T20 World Cup. India realize that their next two games in the Super Eight will be tricky, if not downright unpleasant.
As of now, they are expected to meet Australia on May 7 (unless Bangladesh somehow eke out a victory and reclaim their seeded position in Group A) and West Indies two days later. Both are, no doubt, formidable opponents but that will really not be on top of captain MS Dhoni's mind. He will be more worried about his team's base for the next one week: the much-feared Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. It is a notoriously pace-and-seam-friendly track and his power-hitters will face their first, genuine test here.
India's first leg was apprehension-free as St Lucia was like home away from home: the slow pitch and expansive outfield allowed his batters to express themselves freely and proudly; it was a perfect setting for his array of tweakers too. South Africa unleashed five pacers hoping to manipulate an age-old weakness but for India's new-age batsmen, they were as effective as pellets on a rampaging rhino. Afghanistan, on the other hand, were merely a heart-warming interlude. Add four days of R&R and some of them might even start fantasising about the curvaceous trophy.
Dhoni, however, will be hoping that his 'Rock' will overcome the stomach ailment soon; he, after all, needs Gautam Gambhir's calming influence at the top of the order, even if he is not exactly in piping-hot form. More than anything else, it will allow his real bat-men to live dangerously.
Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan have already shown that they can be equally devastating on the world stage; Dhoni himself has pulled out his sledgehammer to underline that all the hostilities during the IPL have been forgotten and forgiven.
More importantly, he will be pleased to see Yuvraj Singh back among the runs; the sexy-sixy lad is the axis on which the Indian middle order revolves. He needs to fire, especially against the express deliverers from Australia and West Indies, for the campaign to end in a motorcade again.
India's main challenge would be to get their tactics right: they can't afford to stay with a two pacers-two spinners attack, as they did against South Africa. At the K-Oval, they will need a lot more firepower to exploit its conditions.
Zaheer Khan will surely be back to lead the bowling; Nehra will continue to play as both destroyer in the beginning and preserver at the death. Praveen Kumar will be expected to seam and dance with gusto too. If the trio combine into a lethal force, India can easily sail into the semifinals and go beyond.
