INDIA face a potential banana skin when they play the West Indies at the pacy WACA ground. The extra bounce here is exactly what can give an added edge to the otherwise listless West Indian attack which has been pulverised on other grounds by other teams, including Ireland, who chased down over 300 successfully.

The West Indians have relied on pace bowling since time immemorial, and if they don’t get too excited by finding that the ball is thudding into the gloves of the wicket-keeper and bowl a fuller length, then they can cause problems for the Indian batsmen.

India have dealt brilliantly against the pace and swing of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel and the Pakistani trio of Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz, so it’s not as if they have not played pace well before in the tournament. It’s just that the West Indians may be able to restrict the Indians to a total that their batsmen can chase.

The West Indian batsmen will also like the ball coming on to the bat because that is where they will be able to play big shots. The straight boundaries are short, while the boundaries square of the wicket are long, so Chris Gayle and company will be looking to target the shorter boundaries.

Gayle has been susceptible to slower bowlers at the start of his innings, as has been seen in the IPL where Dhoni has used Ashwin to dismiss him early. So it won’t be too much of a surprise if Ashwin starts bowling for India like he has done for his franchise in the IPL. Ashwin’s success against the UAE will encourage him to bowl at the same speed that he bowled. He mixed his deliveries well, and especially the angles that he created by using the crease, gave him the drift that caused problems to the inexperienced UAE batsmen. The UAE batsmen may not have had the skills and experience, but as any cricketer will tell you, wickets and runs against any opposition only increases confidence and self-belief. And while Ashwin has never been short of either, he will still feel good coming in against the men from the Caribbean after his best ever effort against the minnows UAE.

India would ideally like to give every player in their squad a game before the knockouts but would want to ensure that they win against the West Indies first, as that would then pretty much ensure that they finish on top of their group.

The West Indians have been hammered by the South Africans, and with the Proteas scoring in excess of 400 against Ireland too, their net run-rate will have gone up considerably. India, therefore, cannot take this game lightly and must look to win and win big.

Their last two games are in New Zealand where there could be rains, and they do not want to be sharing points with Ireland or Zimbabwe.

Treat each game as it comes and win them all, is what the Indians must say to themselves. They are, after all, the defending champions.

By Special Arrangement for Dawn

Published in Dawn March 5th , 2015

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