Yuvi’s form no end to Mahi’s woes

Robin Uthappa along with other batsmen have been a let-down for Dhoni

SYDNEY: Yuvraj Singh may have finally struck form and India may have made a successful chase of Sri Lanka’s 238 at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday, but the team’s batting woes continue. Even after recording a much-needed win in the Tri-series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni cannot claim to have solved the team’s batting puzzle.

The win must have given a few selection headaches to the skipper, who himself has done most of the willow work than any other batsman in the side.

With an explosive batsman like Virender Sehwag waiting in the wings, the skipper must have expected the batters, whom he has shown faith in to justify his confidence but none, barring Yuvraj has returned the favour.

One of the let-downs of the recent matches was Robin Uthappa. He was promoted up the order but the Bangalore batsman fell cheaply. That he was run out was no consolation as the Twenty20 World Cup star inspired little confidence in his 28-ball 10-run innings. Kumara Sangakkara gave him a reprieve by dropping a catch off Lasith Malinga.

Gautam Gambhir too has lost way after scoring a brilliant century against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Brisbane. The skipper may not be asking for too much if he expects more than 30s. On Tuesday, he was out for 15.

There have also been murmurs about Sachin Tendulkar’s form who is yet to score a half century in the tournament. The Little Master came into the ODIs on a high after a successful Test series but in the Tri-series his form has been ordinary. He is certainly due for a biggie.

India could seriously be contemplating about bringing Virender Sehwag back for their penultimate league game against Australia on Sunday. An explosive start is something India has been missing on, although the captain has been harping on it for some time.

“Viru is a tremendous player. If he was left out, it was because we’re looking at the right team combination,” said Yuvraj. “But I’m sure he will play some part in the tournament,” the vice-captain said. Sehwag was left out because the team wanted to go in with five specialist bowlers.

Keeping the batting aspect in mind, Dhoni preferred ‘all-rounder’ Pravin Kumar to a specialist bowler like S Sreesanth. It may not be right to judge Pravin in one match but his bowling was average and batting was awful. With the asking rate under control, all Pravin was required to do was to stay at the wicket but the UP player mindlessly swung his bat around to leave the team in trouble. Even Harbhajan Singh, who exhibited superb batting skills, has fallen short of expectations. Irfan Pathan has showed an immense application although he was guilty of a wrong shot at the wrong time on Tuesday.

With three days to go, Dhoni has enough time to gauge the form his batsmen but one worry that is off his head is the form of Yuvraj Singh.