Starting trouble

As the Indians arrived in Durban on Wednesday, the horrors of the defeat in their one-day international here less than a month ago — when the Indians crumpled for 91 — will have revisited to temper the exultation from the Wanderers victory. They will have also reminded the visitors that, though they have the hosts on the backfoot, India have their own weaknesses to address.

For instance, the Wanderers show had a happy ending but the opening act didn’t exactly set the stage on fire. Between the two of them, Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag scored a total of 50 runs from the 480-odd that were notched up by the Indians. Earlier, it was a similar tale in the Potchefstroom warm-up game, where both were dismissed for nought in the first innings, Jaffer in fact going for a golden pair while Sehwag was saved that embarrassment by a 10 in the second innings.

This has been enough to spark off a discussion on whether a change at the top is necessary, with the chief national selector Dilip Vengsarkar reported to have said after the Test that “the opening slot was up for grabs”.

The last time India played Test cricket was in the West Indies, where the Jaffer-Sehwag pair didn’t fare badly. Jaffer had a double ton (212 in Antigua) and two half-centuries to his name, while Sehwag came back with a century (180 in St Lucia) and a 50. Both averaged over 50 individually.

In recent times, India have been steadier with their opening combination than the seven used since January 2005 implies (see table). Only the Jaffer-Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir-Sehwag pairs have been consistently selected, with Rahul Dravid floating into the job.  On this tour, matters are not desperate yet. Had the result at Johannesburg gone the other way, the chances of a change would have been that much higher. As it stands, at least coach Greg Chappell seems to believe that one Test is too little to judge Jaffer by, and Sehwag, well, the man can just bounce back in any match, can’t he?

Chappell had also said on Tuesday that opening was a specialist’s job, with ‘experimentation’ to be used only once in a while. Even as he said that, he also agreed that the option of Dravid or Pathan opening is always a legitimate one.  Now, should the pair be separated, it is most likely to be Jaffer sitting out, with a specialist coming in for another specialist — Gautam Gambhir.

The Delhi batsman has a strong domestic record, apart from an extremely healthy partnership history with statemate Sehwag. The duo have featured in seven matches as openers and put on 703 runs at an average of 63.91 as compared to Jaffer and Sehwag, who return with 525 runs at an average of 37.50 from 8 Tests. What goes against Gambhir is lack of match practice in South Africa. He hasn’t even played a single tour game.

Given that the Durban wicket is going to the quickest among the three the Indians face in the Test series, bringing in an untried batsman may be dangerous. However, there is a two-day game planned against a KwaZulu Natal Invitation XI starting on Dec 22. And Gambhir is likely to get his chance to impress, ahead of the second Test.