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Johannesburg: Another subdued practice session, another day of eerie silence. Team India is still coping with the unexpected loss of Yuvraj Singh and rejigging the middle order is on top of their list of priorities.
However, with the Pakistan clash looming, the absence of Yuvraj's big-hitting talents could prove easier to tide over than his recently-developed skills as a part-time slow bowler.
Kevin Pietersen's 'pie-chucker' took two hat-tricks during the second edition of the Indian Premier League on South African soil and has bowled 194 overs in 56 games in the last two years. It is in the past year, though, that his bowling skills have gone up a notch as he bagged 12 wickets at 30.91. In the past 17 ODIs, he has even bowled his full quota of 10 overs twice, both away from home, at Christchurch and at Colombo, where he finished with a three-wicket haul against New Zealand at 3.10.
In Hamilton this year, he bowled nine overs in the fourth ODI at an economy rate of 4.44, picking up one wicket. Yuvraj's loopy tweakers have enabled MS Dhoni to play one specialist spinner in Harbhajan Singh more often than not and that luxury would have come in handy on a dry surface like at the Supersport Park in Centurion, where India play two crucial league games against Pakistan and Australia.
Now, either Yusuf Pathan or Suresh Raina will have to step up, with the only other part-time option being replacement Virat Kohli, who is expected to arrive only on Friday morning.
While Dhoni finds his hands tied on this fifth-bowler dilemma, there will be discussions aplenty on how to plug the yawning gap in the middle order. Dhoni might have to step up to the plate and return to his aggressive ways, but then who will play finisher as skillfully as the skipper has in the recent past? Sachin Tendulkar too might have to attempt to play steadfastly throughout. Gambhir is back as opener but with Yuvraj's match-winning presence unavailable in the latter stages, will Dravid be under more pressure to up the ante?
In the context of the upcoming Pakistan game, too, Yuvraj's absence acquires relevance. He was man of the series in India's last full series against Pakistan. Besides, during the memorable 2003 World Cup game at Centurion, in a match made memorable by Sachin Tendulkar's 98, Yuvraj had scored a crucial, unbeaten 50 as India successfully chased 273. The ground will miss his presence in this reprise of that big clash.
Incidentally, the batsmen is expected to stay back in South Africa for a while and has been advised rest.
