The third and final Test, starting today in Nagpur, faces danger from unseasonal showers.
Question: Daniel (Vettori), how do you plan to deal with Harbhajan?
Answer: Are you talking about his batting or bowling?
As clouds gathered over the VCA Stadium at Jamtha here on Friday, it was Harbhajan Singh who must have been hovering over the minds of the New Zealand skipper.
With two back-to-back centuries, he has become the unlikely batting star of the series. “The challenge is to contain Harbhajan. When he comes to the wicket hopefully, this time we will be able to contain him,” Vettori said on Friday.
The last two Tests may not have produced results but they have both thrown up the strengths and weaknesses of the teams. As the third and final Test begins here on Saturday, India will hope to see their bowlers deliver and the resurgent New Zealand will go no holds barred for a historic first series win in India. However, what MS Dhoni and Vettori must first be hoping for is that the rain will relent for the next five days.
The Indians, deprived of practice on Thursday, had again to sit and watch on Friday as the sunny afternoon made way for a spell of rain that lasted a couple of hours.
New Zealand, however, got to practise in the morning. As the sun shone again late in the afternoon, it brought with it hopes of the match starting on time on Friday.
There could not have been a better venue for the decider. Both Tests played here have produced results and Sachin Tendulkar scored a hundred in both those matches. For the Indians, a win coupled with Tendulkar reaching the historic milestone, will be a perfect result.
Tendulkar made the most of the 15 minutes of slightly favourable weather India got. He practised next to the match wicket. A few drives and deft late cuts later he had to rush indoors as drizzle made way for heavy downpour.
Dhoni, who had been critical of the pitches on offer in the last two matches, spent time looking at the Jamtha wicket and had a long word with the curator.
In the absence of an injured Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan will be the main strike bowler and Dhoni said that he will probably stick to his four-bowler plan with two pacers and two spinners.
So, India are likely to go in with S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan and Pragyan Ojha. Jaidev Unadkat is unlikely to make the cut. For India, this will be the last Test to iron out their flaws before the series in South Africa. Suresh Raina and Dhoni would be hoping to get some runs and bowlers would be looking to dismiss the Kiwis twice for the first time in the series.
Though India sit pretty with the No 1 tag, Dhoni, like his rival Vettori, knows that his team, too, will be viewed on the basis of this Test and not the previous ones.
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