Suneer Chowdhary
( Cricket Writer)
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When India clinched the first ever edition of the Asia Cup – or the Rothmans Cup as it came to be known as – the tournament had lasted only three matches, yet had stretched across a week. Twenty four years on, the tournament has doubled in terms of the number of teams and the days, and added ten more matches to its previous three. Yet, with the kind of performances that the other teams have exhibited in the near past, India would still look favorites to clinch the trophy on 6th of July.

Having said that, India were the favorites in the Kitply Cup too, but, in the end, lost the match they should not have. The aberration needs to be corrected, and India is lucky to have received an opportunity this early. Sachin Tendulkar and Sreesanth are already out due to injuries, Bhajji’s still serving the ban sentence and Zaheer’s fitness problems have not been resolved. This is old news – which has not changed – but to add to this, Irfan Pathan’s knee seems to have been giving him problems, and he is a doubtful starter. Pathan’s exclusion could hit the team’s balance; and in that case, Dhoni may just be tempted into playing two spinners; Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha.

The Sehwag-Gambhir combination has been firing on all cylinders and there is nothing to suggest that they would not continue in the same vein. However, this time, the Indian middle order needs to come to the party as well and Dhoni has decided to take the bull by its horns and has agreed to get himself up the order. Probably, at the expense of Suresh Raina or Yusuf Pathan. The older of the Pathans, may be a better asset at the start of the 40th over, than getting into the ground after the openers have made a merry. It is difficult for any batsman walking in such a position, and an experienced player could do the trick for the team. Hence I strongly believe in Yuvraj Singh to get in early at this crucial position.

Sri Lanka’s form has fallen away woefully in the ODIs; having lost one series after another, after their exploits in last year’s World Cup. The losses would have been hard to digest; but what has been difficult to understand is that Sri Lanka has barely looked like as if they have been competing. This would be a chance for them to prove otherwise. Sanath Jayasuriya’s return is an obvious plus, but Farveez Maharoof – who had a reasonable IPL – would be missed.

Likewise, with Lasith Malinga. The one man to definitely watch out for is the batsmen-bamboozler, Ajantha Mendis. Words would not justify his skill, and his bowling comes with a ‘don’t-try-this-at-home’ warning that children could do well to heed! On a more serious note, watching the duo of Muralitharan and Mendis bowl in tandem has a potential to make for a mouth-watering battle, the two Ms could just be the tonic that the islanders need.

Next: Pakistan, Bangladesh and the rest…