Back to work in Perth

Cricket took the backstage amidst the bluster and ballyhoo surrounding the happenings at the SCG. Now that the dust has settled down, India have to address the real issue — cricket — in which Anil Kumble & Co are faced with a 0-2 deficit going into Perth Test.  Nihal Koshie lists out the problem areas and possible alternatives

Umpiring blunders made Kumble & Co. look worse than they were at Sydney, but an expansive view of the series reveals that the Indians haven’t really been up to scratch and have to play out of their skins to salvage some pride from 0-2 down.

The enormity of the task, after their 337-run defeat at Melbourne and 122-run loss at Sydney has been lost in the shrill calls for Steve Bucknor’s head and the hoopla around the three-Test ban on off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. But beginning with the two-day practice game against an Australian Capital Territory XI at Canberra, Kumble will have to quickly iron out the deficiencies that have made India vulnerable thus far against the best side in the world.
 
Jaffer freezes
It is of little comfort that Wasim Jaffer has not been able to come to terms with the bounce and pace of the Australian wickets. Jaffer has managed just 22 in two innings. Jaffer’s dismissals have exposed the middle-order to the new ball and the Australian speedsters have had their tails up early on right through this series. While he remains one of the finest players off the back-foot it requires to be seen if he has the heart for a battle against a tear-away pace attack at Perth.
Jaffer’s scores: 4, 15, 3, 0

Opening combination
Jaffer’s failure and Dravid’s body of work at No.3 does throw up a debate as to who should open at Perth and Adelaide. The first name that springs to mind is that of Virender Sehwag, who hasn’t put together an innings of any note for a while but was recalled going by his reputation to shred the best attacks on his day. Another option would be to play wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthick at the top. If Jaffer is retained and either Karthick or Sehwag partner him, then Dravid can go back to No.3. In such a scenario Yuvraj will have to sit out of at least the third Test at Perth. 
1 for: 4, 26, 8, 3

Yuvraj goes missing
All the tinkering in the batting order, including sending Rahul Dravid, India best No.3, to open the innings was done to accommodate the in-form Yuvraj Singh at No.6. Thus far, Yuvraj has failed to rise to the occasion, looking the shadow of the batsman who flayed the Pakistan on way to 169 at Bangalore. His frailty against spin has been exposed by Brad Hogg and he hasn’t shown the required application during his visits to the middle. Yuvraj has made more news for his love life rather than his cricket.
Yuvraj so far: 0, 5, 12, 0

Dhoni exposed
While the wicket-keeper batsman displayed the fortitude to battle it out in the middle in the second innings at Sydney, it is clear for all to see that India’s one-day skipper will have to change his technique. If he wants to taste the kind of success he has experienced on the sub-continental wickets, he will have to go back to the drawing board quickly. 
Dhoni with the bat: 0, 11, 2, 35

No Zak attack
With Zaheer Khan incapacitated with a right heel injury, the pace attack looked thin in spite of a lion-hearted efforts of rookie Ishant Sharma. Though RP Singh is as crafty as left-arm swing bowler doing the rounds these days, it will be too much of an ask for him to lead the attack without strong support. Pankaj Singh, another lanky paceman, is yet to play an international game and Irfan Pathan, even in his latest avatar and reworked action, hasn’t been the force he once used to be. Indian attack will give Ponting & Co no sleepless nights.
RP at SCG: 5/198; Ishant at SCG: 0/146