Survival test for India

CHANDIGARH: A must-win situation, a need for team effort, a need to go full throttle and maybe a stroke of luck — no matter what phrase is used here, the case is as simple as the script of a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film.

India will have to take desperate measures, and win the fourth one-day international against Australia at any cost, to keep the interest in the series alive. A loss, on the other hand, would mean that India can at best tie the series, not win it. Even for that, they have to win three straight matches which in itself is a Herculean task against the world champions.

And it is not going to be easy. The Indian batting, which has looked fragile throughout the series, will again be tested on Monday. None of the current players — save Sachin Tendulkar, who played here against England in 1993 and Yuvraj Singh, for whom it is home turf — have played on this ground before.

Complicating matters further is a groin injury to opener Gautam Gambhir. It looks like the Delhi batsman will miss the match after undergoing an MRI scan — he slipped and hurt himself at the nets — ensuring the return of Sourav Ganguly, who sat out of the Kochi and Hyderabad matches, for different reasons.

The bowling attack, which has taken a beating in all the three matches so far, looks set to be bolstered by the recall of Murali Kartik, whose lengthy practice sessions point to his inclusion.

The team composition notwithstanding, it is the on-field performance that is the main cause of worry for the hosts. And some team members have made no bones of accepting the fact that the team has been under pressure in this series.

“We’re yet to come out of the Twenty20 mould. There seems to be a hangover,” admitted Robin Uthappa. “But tomorrow is a crucial match and we’ll definitely give it our best and make amends.”

For Australia, on the other hand, it appears an easy task; the world champions have their strategies in place. Captain Ricky Ponting made it clear that his side would “bat first” if they win the toss.

Similar decisions at the toss — Ponting has been as lucky with the coin this time as his Indian counterpart Mahindra Singh Dhoni was in South Africa — has given Australia a 2-0 series lead.

The Sector 16 Stadium, which is hosting its first one-day international in 14 years, also looks set to benefit the batsmen and validate the Australian captain’s assertion.

It’s going to be a batsman’s paradise and the team batting first can easily score in excess of 260, maybe even 300,” said Haryana Cricket Association curator Vijay Yadav.  The equation, therefore, is pretty simple. India have to win on Monday. No two ways about that.