Jayawardene may rely on batsmen to deliver

Michael Clarke is riding a crest this season. He has been tactically stimulating, can inspire his men and lead by personal example. Pitted against Clarke in the third game of Commonwealth Bank ODI triangular series here on Friday will be an old fox.

Mahela Jayawardene is an inventive captain who can create opportunities. Pro-active, he is alive to the changing shades of a contest. By his lofty standards, Jayawardene had an ordinary game here on Wednesday against the Indians. Not picking a specialist spinner and going in with an all-pace attack was a flawed strategy that came back to haunt him and his team as the match progressed.

Given that the only way Sri Lanka could have won the match against India would have been to attack more, Jayawardene was in no man's land with his field placements. He was neither aggressive nor defensive and allowed the game to drift.

But then, this was Jayawardene's first game as skipper after taking over the reins again during difficult times for his country's cricket team. There is plenty of time to make amends.

High-risk ploy?

Jayawardene has embarked on a high-risk ploy ahead of Friday's game. By declaring that the Sri Lankan batsmen could target the Australian pace attack — he indirectly suggested there were chinks in the line-up — the Sri Lankan captain was, in effect, showing the red rag to the bull.

Now, Australia, despite injury concerns and the need to provide rest to its premier pacemen, possesses the depth and the firepower in these conditions. The host's pacemen can blow away opponents as the Indians found out in the Melbourne ODI.

And Jayawardene was now provoking these pacemen. Perhaps, he wanted them to veer away from their successful game-plan — where precision and controlled aggression formed the back-bone — and attempt to bowl quick without accuracy. Then, the Sri Lankan batsmen could take advantage.

Australia is likely to retain the pace trio of Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc and Clint McKay with all-rounder Daniel Christian backing up as the fourth seamer. Xavier Doherty, the steady left-arm spinner, is expected to retain his place.

The pitch here should offer speed, carry and movement to the pacemen. But, as we saw at the WACA on Wednesday, there could be a fair amount of purchase for the spinners as well.

Forrest may play

Australia with five points, including a bonus from its first game against India, could make one change. The team-management appears keen to provide an opportunity to Queensland batsman Peter Forrest, either at the top of the order or in the middle order, and one of the specialist batsmen could be rested.

Sri Lanka is likely to bring in left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for batsman Lahiru Thirimanne. Herath could provide much needed variety to the side's bowling.

Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga will have to lift the levels of his bowling. He appeared rather flat against the Indians, operating without the fire and aggression of old. Worse, his swinging yorkers were hardly visible.

Sri Lanka has a few other areas to improve upon. The side needs to pace its innings better — the Lankans got bogged down in the middle overs against the Indian spinners and could never regain momentum.

In Dinesh Chandimal, the side has a fine prospect. Much of the side's chances would depend on this wicket-keeper batsman and the experienced Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Of course, the ebullient Tillakaratne Dilshan will be the X factor.

The islanders have another match-winner in all-rounder Angelo Mathews. He lends balance to the side, whether taking on the bowlers and dismissing the ball to the far corners of the ground or sending down his off-cutters with deadly precision.

This said, the Australian batsmen could relish the extra bounce at the WACA. If the explosive David Warner plays, he could revive memories of the Test match when the Indians chased leather.

Sri Lanka does not have a point after its only game but things could change in this unique tri-series with a lengthy league phase. History, however, is against Sri Lanka at the WACA. It has not defeated Australia in eight previous meetings between the sides here in the ODIs.

The teams:

Australia (from): M. Clarke (capt.), D. Warner, M. Wade, R. Ponting, M. Hussey, D. Hussey, D. Christian, P. Forrest, C. McKay, R. Harris, X. Doherty, M. Starc, B. Hilfenhaus and M. Marsh.

Sri Lanka: M. Jayawardene (capt.), T. Dilshan, U. Tharanga, K. Sangakkara, D. Chandimal, A. Mathews, T. Perera, N. Kulasekara, L. Malinga, R. Herath, C. Welegedara, D. Prasad, L. Thirimanne, F. Maharoof and S. Senanayake.

Play starts at 9.50 a.m. IST

Pattinson may play in the later stages of tri-series

Australia coach Mickey Arthur expects James Pattinson to figure in the later stages of the Commonwealth Bank triangular ODI series.

The 21-year-old fast bowler impressed in the first two Tests against India with 11 wickets at 23.36 but was forced to miss action subsequently because of a foot injury.

Pattinson, though, is recovering well. Arthur revealed that the fast bowler bowled at the nets before the ODI in Melbourne. “Pattinson, we might see at the back of the ODI tri-series,” Arthur said.

The Australian coach, however, did not think another injured young paceman Pat Cummins, would be able to make the ODI series. “We, perhaps, won't see Cummins until the tour of the West Indies,” he said.

Watson making progress

Key all-rounder Shane Watson, Arthur felt, was making good progress from his fitness concerns. “He is getting his body to the point where we want him to be. We do not want to put any time-frame on his return. I am in regular touch with him and he's a valuable player for us.”

Arthur said, “He should be playing in grade cricket soon and we could take things forward from there. At some stage, he'll bat down the order and bowl for us.”

Indeed, Arthur felt Watson opening the innings might not enable Australia make the most of his all-round ability. “It's about where best it fits us and where best it fits for him. He might be doing a fair bit of bowling for us and Michael Clarke has used him wisely. Whether he can sustain that level of bowling and continue to open the batting, that's the question.”

The Australian coach was pleased with Shaun Marsh, desperately out of form in international cricket, finding some runs with a 79 for Western Australia against Queensland in a Shield game recently. “That's the way for him, making plenty of runs in Shield cricket rather than playing in the ODIs.”

The reserve batsman in the ODI squad, Peter Forrest, Arthur said, would feature in the Australian side sometime during the tri-series. “We need to take a look at him before the tour of the West Indies,” he said.

Coach backs Haddin

Arthur also backed out-of-form wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin. “I think he did okay in the Test series against India. He could have got a few more runs but the middle-order made big runs and he did not always get an opportunity.”

In the same breath, the Aussie coach added, “It's good to see Wadey (Matthew Wade) pushing him. But we should be taking two 'keepers to the West Indies anyway. It will be a nice internal battle between them. I am looking forward to seeing who comes up trumps.”

Big money will lead young players astray

Serious concerns have been expressed by many about the future of Test cricket. But neither the nature of pitches nor the one-sidedness of matches will kill Test cricket as quickly as will the flawed attitude of players. The manner in which huge sums of money are being given to young players will have a direct bearing on their attitude.

When, in 2002, a 14-year-old, curly haired and extremely hyper Ravindra Jadeja joined the Cricket Club of India academy his first glimpse reminded the coaches of the talent of Salim Durrani, who hails from Jamnagar, the same place as Jadeja. The coaches: Nari Contractor, Hanumant Singh and Vasu Paranjpe would call him junior Salim.

Not only did Jadeja have loads of talent, he had the guts to perform in crunch situations. Once, in a match against the Mumbai under-22 team, he kept telling the coaches to send him in at No. 3, but to no avail. Eventually when he did go in, the required rate was very high.

He hooked, pulled and lofted the tall bowlers with ease. Some bowlers engaged in sledging, but Jadeja gave it back to them by winning the game comfortably for his side. The cocky guy that he was, he proclaimed to the coaches that he was better than his colleagues.

Jadeja's talent in whatever he did made Raj Singh Dungarpur think of playing him for Rajasthan, just as Kailash Gattani did when he was 14.

Very impressive

So impressed were the coaches that they were confident Jadeja would play Test cricket for India before he was out of his teens. He showed amazing wicket-taking ability and was a very good fielder off his own bowling. While batting he not only displayed a wide range of shots but also knew how to tackle situations. He had a lovely pick-up and throw as well.

A school drop-out, the only thing he knew was that he had to make cricket his livelihood. He did exceedingly well for Saurashtra and says Shane Warne's advice helped him in his approach towards the game.

The money factor made him master the art of succeeding in the shorter formats of the game, thereby giving the impression that he was not cut out for bowling long spells, which is not true. Sadly, it is the ‘more money for less work' mindset that he seems to be happy with.

Nari Contractor has a point when he says, “Jadeja is good enough to play the longer formats but if his mindset remains at restricting the batsmen rather than getting them out, he can't be successful in Tests. For the IPL, we must pick players who have performed in a certain number of first class matches. This is the only remedy to work on their mindsets.”

By taking into consideration only the performances in the shorter formats of the game, we are letting talented youngsters think solely of monetary gain. This is affecting the skill level that we see in Tests. If we go by Contractor's logic, we will get to watch talented players develop further by playing in the longer format of the game, as it really tests all the vital aspects of the game.

Jadeja has hit the jackpot. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of this player because not many have succeeded in handling fat cheques.

Dhoni praises Ashwin

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said off-spinner R. Ashwin “had to bowl out of his comfort zone in the Power Plays and the slog overs.”

He praised Ashwin for his all-round display in India's four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka here on Wednesday. “He also batted well, did well for himself and the team.”

Dhoni said the side had belief in Ravindra Jadeja as someone who can bat capably at No. 7 and do his job as a bowler.

He also said the Indian team missed a genuine pace bowling all-rounder which is why it had to depend on its two spinners who could also bat well to lend the side depth. Dhoni was appreciative of Virat Kohli's vital 77. Asked about Kohli having to be carried off the field after being run-out, he replied, “It's only cramps, nothing serious. You have to be properly rehydrated in these conditions.”

On his stunning diving catch to the left to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara, Dhoni joked, “I celebrated more than usual because I thought it was a fluke!”

Bigger totals

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said his team was short by 30 to 40 runs. “We did not pace our innings well and got bogged down in the middle phase. We have to get bigger totals on the board.”

He went on, “The only way you can put pressure on the opposition after scoring just over 230 is to get wickets at regular intervals and deny the batsmen singles. I would not mind boundaries but those singles hurt us. We had our moments but could not finish things off.”

Jayawardene said, “These are early days in the tournament. We can improve. I still believe there is a lot of talent in this side. You need to identify them and define the roles properly.”

India stutters before prevailing

India lived at the death at the WACA here on Wednesday. The side found unlikely batting heroes in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin who held their nerve in the cauldron.

At the end of it all, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team clinched a match of twist and turns by four wickets. The side now has four points from two matches in the Commonwealth Bank triangular ODI series. Australia has five from one and Sri Lanka is yet to open its account.

India required 53 runs from 14 overs – the side was 181 for six – when Ashwin joined Jadeja. Sri Lanka, which has made 233 for eight after electing to bat, was closing in for the kill.

Ashwin (30 not out) and Jadeja (24 not out), both spin bowling all-rounders, handled the situation with a calm mind. They collected ones and two by relying on deft placements. Only when the ball was lacking in direction or length did they venture into the bigger strokes.

Jadeja cut Tillakaratne Dilshan bowling off-spin – Sri Lanka erred by going into the match without a specialist spinner – while Ashwin timed paceman Lasith Malinga through wide mid-off and pulled seamer Dhamika Prasad past the ropes. Soon, India was home.

Ashwin, who had contained and struck with his off-spin to finish with figures of three for 32 in the Sri Lankan innings, was adjudged Man of the Match.

Virat Kohli's 94-ball 77 held the Indian innings together. The fiesty Kohli's commitment to the team's cause was exemplary. He put a price on his wicket, got solidly behind the line and handled the lifting deliveries capably.

The right-hander flicked with aplomb and pulled with panache apart from running hard between the wickets. Kohli also blasted Prasad over the straight-field for a six.

Moments later, he pushed one to mid-on and set off for a single.

Malinga took him out with a direct hit. Cramping and in pain, the brave Kolhi left the arena in dejection.

Jadeja and Ashwin left him smiling at the end of the match though. India required a start but Virender Sehwag, failing in his ploy to harness the bounce in the surface, was caught at third man off slinger Malinga.

Sachin Tendulkar rolled back the years when he – his feet movement in harmony – eased Malinga through mid-off . Tendulkar (48) looked good for more when he tried to dab an off-cutter from paceman Angelo Mathews and played on.

India failed to build sizable partnerships. Never appearing organised with his footwork on a lively pitch, Rohit Sharma succumbed to seamer Thisara Perera; Tillakaratne Dilshan came up with a blinder at point.

Suresh Raina promised much with a couple of rapier-like cover and off drives before being gobbled up by the short ball by Mathews – the left-hander simply does not get into a proper position to essay the pull.

Dhoni too perished to a pull off Prasad; Malinga ran back at wide mid-on to hold a fine catch.

Earlier, Zaheer Khan, back in the eleven, bowled with rhythm and precision. And off-spinner Ashwin rediscovered his control to bowl with heart and craft.

Bowling is a lot about partnerships – pressure has to created from both the ends – and Zaheer combined wonderfully with Ashwin in a probing pace-spin association.

Between them, the two sent down 14 Power Play overs in which their returns were four wickets for 42.

Ashwin impressed in the batting Power Play – taken between overs 36 and 40 – sending down three overs for just 10 runs while scalping two.

It was an influential piece of bowling at a critical juncture.

Mahela Jayawardene top-edged a sweep and was splendidly held by Rohit Sharma. Then the big-hitting Perera was done in by a sharp off-spinner from round-the-wicket; Dhoni pulled off a smart stumping.

Ashwin got his off-spinners to turn, switched his line to the right and the left-handers capably and employed the carrom ball judiciously.

Crucially, the variations were not of a predictable nature as he altered his trajectory and surprised the batsmen by releasing from behind the crease.

The off-spinner then consumed the talented Dinesh Chandimal with a delivery, angled across the right-hander, from round the wicket. The carrom ball got big on Chandimal and Dhoni did well to effect another stumping.

Dhoni had earlier defied gravity in the manner of a soccer goal-keeper to come up with the ball after Zaheer straightened one to find the edge of the left-handed Kumar Sangakkara's bat.

India picked one more paceman – Zaheer replaced injured leg-spinner Rahul Sharma. A 3-2 combination meant there was greater balance in the Indian attack.

For Sri Lanka, opener Dilshan (48) drove fluently off either foot and pulled well before being unable to keep a cut off left-arm spinner Jadeja down.

Chandimal (64) used his feet nicely to bind the innings and the strong Mathews gave the Lankans some fillip towards the end.

These runs were not enough for the islanders.

Scoreboard (PTI):

Sri Lanka :

Upul Tharanga c Tendulkar b Khan 4

Tillakaratne Dilshan c Kohli b Jadeja 48

Kumar Sangakkara c Dhoni b Khan 26

Dinesh Chandimal st Dhoni b Ashwin 64

Mahela Jayawardene c Sharma b Ashwin 23

Thisara Perera st Dhoni b Ashwin 7

Anjelo Mathews not out 33

Lahiru Thirimanne run out 7

Nuwan Kulasekara c Sharma b Vinay Kumar 7

Lasith Malinga not out 1

Extras: (LB—6, W—7) 13

Total: (For 8 wickets in 50 overs) 233

Fall of wickets: 1—12, 2—74, 3—100, 4—152, 5—172, 6—189, 7—204, 8—228

Bowling: Zaheer Khan 10—1—44—2, Praveen Kumar 10—0—54—0, Vinay Kumar 10—1—56—1, Ravindra Jadeja 10—0—41—1, R Ashwin 10—1—32—3.

India:

V Sehwag c Kulasekara b Malinga 10

S Tendulkar b Mathews 48

V Kohli run out 77

R Sharma c Dilshan b Perera 10

S Raina c b Mathews 24

MS Dhoni c Malinga b Prasad 4

R Jadeja not out 24

R Ashwin not out 30

Extras: (LB—5, WD—2) 7

Total (for six wickets in 46.4 overs) 234

Fall of wickets: 1—14, 2—89, 3—122, 4—157, 5—167, 6—181.

Bowling: L Malinga 9—0—49—1, N Kulasekara 8—0—38—0, D Prasad 10—0—47—1, A Mathews 9.4—1—31—2, T Perera 5—0—37—1, T Dilshan 5—0—27—0.

This game is not about marquee names alone

Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar once said the Indians always played better when they had sun on their backs. Where are those days now?

There is no dearth of sunshine in Perth, the leafy, charming capital of Western Australia. But then, the Indians were rolled over in the Test here by the marauding Australian pacemen on a typically fast WACA pitch.

And as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men prepare for their next game in the Commonwealth Bank triangular ODI series — against Sri Lanka here on Wednesday — they would do well to remember Umesh Yadav who bowled with fire and passion in the third Test against the Aussies at this venue.

The Indians missed the wood for the tree when they entered the tournament opener at the MCG with just two pacemen. This game can punish mistakes.

Searing intensity

India's strategic blunder overshadowed, rather unfairly, a display of searing intensity and aggression by the Australian pace pack. Indeed, the story of the season has been the depth in the Australian pace bowling ranks.

An injured Brett Lee pulled out of the competition with a fractured foot and left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc stepped in to bowl with precision, craft and rhythm. The delivery that consumed Gautam Gambhir reared like a cobra before finding the edge — the kiss of death really.

The Australians, on Monday, roped in Ben Hilfenhaus as cover for the host's game against Sri Lanka here on Friday.

Hilfenhaus, as selection panel chief John Inverarity indicated, might not play the match here; the Aussies are likely to stick to the same pace attack that routed India at the MCG. But he could be in the swing of things at Adelaide.

Hilfenhaus was one of the key players in Australia's 4-0 sweep of India in the Test series. He bowled at a lively pace, moved the ball in the air and achieved deviation off the seam too.

Crucially, he made the batsman play from around their off-stump. The numbers — 27 wickets at 17.22 — tell the story.

Eyeing a return

Hilfenhaus will be eyeing a return to the ODI scheme of things – he last played for Australia in this format during the tour of India in 2009 before returning home with tendinitis of his right knee.

And the 28-year-old Tasmanian with limitless stamina will surely seek to improve upon his ODI stats of 18 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 5.67.

Swing bowlers tend to go for runs in the shorter formats but can strike telling blows.

Australia has still not overcome fitness concerns vis a vis its pace bowlers. The promising James Pattinson, who tormented India in the first two Tests with his speed and thrust, is recovering from a bone stress injury on his left foot.

Mitchell Johnson, grappling with a damaged toe, finds his international career under a cloud with comeback men such as Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle and the younger bunch grabbing their chances.

And the lively Ryan Harris — the skilful bowler with strong shoulders and wrist has been luckless this season — is still buzzing around.

Not to speak of Clint McKay, the lanky paceman who hits the deck to extract bounce and seam movement. McKay was in his element against Inda at the MCG scalping four. He also possesses a deceptive Yorker and can vary his pace cleverly at the death.

McKay and Starc combined effectively against India at the MCG.

Immense possibilities

The 22-year-old Starc has immense possibilities. The left-armer has an easy run-up where the momentum is gained gradually, a natural action and has the delivery that comes into the right-hander.

The New South Welshman's short-pitched deliveries can open up batsmen; he uses the ball to disrupt the feet movement of the batsman before unleashing a fuller one. He is working on the delivery leaving the right-hander that would make the one that darts back even more dangerous.

To his credit, Starc has been able to switch his line to the southpaws admirably from over-the-wicket. He is taking the ball away from the left-handers — this delivery is laced with bounce — at will. A lean and mean pace predator, he certainly is.

Then we have someone like Peter Siddle — another Australian hero in the Test series with 23 wickets at 18.65 — who is desperate to make a come-back to ODI cricket.

With his aggression, velocity and nip off the wicket, he can be a handful in any format. When this fiery customer bounds in, cricket can be engaging; you can sniff a duel. Siddle can sizzle.

Waiting in the wings

There are others waiting in the wings. Twenty-five-year-old Queenslander Ben Cutting, they say, cuts like a knife. These men are fast, furious and hungry. This Australian pace attack might lack great names but has bowled in great areas.

When you seam and swing the ball both ways in the corridor at speeds in excess of 140 kmph, consistently send down good length deliveries that would go on to hit the top of off-stump, cramp the batsmen for room by denying them width, and unsettle them with well-directed lifting deliveries, it can be a handful for most.

This game is not about marquee names alone.

Please respect Yuvraj’s privacy, BCCI tells media

The Indian Cricket Board on Monday said it would issue regular health updates of World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh, who is being treated for lung cancer in the United States, and pleaded with the media to respect the ailing player’s privacy.

“Yuvraj Singh is presently undergoing treatment for his medical condition. The BCCI wishes him a speedy recovery,” BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

“The BCCI is in touch with Yuvraj’s family members. They have been inundated with calls from the media over the past few days. His family values the affection and concern the media has for Yuvraj.

“The Board would like to appeal to the media to respect the privacy of Yuvraj and his family members, at this critical juncture,” he added.

Mr. Yuvraj, player of the Tournament in the World Cup last year with 362 runs, 15 wickets and four Man-of-the-Match awards, has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy at the Cancer Research Institute in Boston.

The 30-year-old left-hander has been in U.S. since January getting treatment for what was earlier claimed to be a tumour in the lungs by his family.

His physiotherapist Dr. Jatin Chaudhary has, however, assured that the ailment is curable and the batsman would be fit to resume cricket in May.

The news of Mr. Yuvraj’s ailment sparked off massive media coverage on Sunday.

“Periodic media releases regarding his health status will be issued by the BCCI,” Mr. Jagdale said.