Can India get away Scot-free?

DURBAN: Little time to practice, actually just two practice sessions; a new skipper in MS Dhoni; one bunch of players who are weary after a gruelling tour of England; another group that flew into South Africa from home, looking to hit the road hard and running; no coach since the World Cup in the Caribbean, and three managers with vastly different approaches taking charge.

Moreover, no Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid to turn to for young skipper Dhoni for some quick-fix advice in this form of the game where thinking on one’s feet is ideal. By the way, it was only 24 hours ago that the team got down to studying the rules of the game! Not the ideal build-up to a World Cup.

Well, their troubles seem trivial compared to arch-rivals Pakistan. Shoaib Malik’s team beat Scotland by 51 runs in their World Cup opener.

A relief for a team, which lost to Ireland in the 50/50 World Cup. If India put it across the motley bunch of Scots, they will go into Friday’s game with no fear of getting knocked out. The only pressure will be that of a traditional high-profile clash.

India were to play Pakistan at the World Cup. But Ireland and Bangladesh gate-crashed into the party on the same day. Malik had no doubt why the win over Scotland was important, especially for Asian teams that have little experience and are not yet attuned to the demands of cricket’s fastest version.

“No matter which team you play. It is important to win the opening game of a big tournament. It acts as a morale-booster. It lifts team spirit,” the Pakistan skipper said. Just last week Shoaib Akhtar had smashed a bat into his pace bowling partner and former fellow junkie Mohammad Asif. Not the best advertisement for Pakistan cricket. A brooding Akhtar was sent back home. Wednesday’s win has put all that on the back-burner.

Dhoni, like Malik, doesn’t want to remember the team’s horrendous World Cup. Shahid Afridi, who missed the Carribbean event after threatening to have a go at a spectator in a previous series, provided the spark on the field with 22 runs off just 7 balls. His confidence was high. “If Shahid Afridi bats for 10 to 12 balls then he will hit a great score,” was what the mercurial Pathan said about his role in T20.

Dhoni, too, will have at least three in his ranks who are hungry for success. Irfan Pathan didn’t play in the World Cup, Harbhajan Singh hasn’t played too much for India after that, and Virender Sehwag wasn’t good enough to make the trip to England. If like Afridi either one of them can fire, the Scots will have to run for cover.

Ryan Watson’s team is made up of bits-and-pieces players and some interesting characters. Dougie Brown, for example, has played for England and then for Scotland. At the 2003 World Cup he was Namibia’s coach. They can throw up a surprise or two, but hopefully it won’t be the kind Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal stunned the Indians with a few months go.