It's good to have 'Gauti' back in full flow Sourav Ganguly | 2010-12-04 14:46:24

It's good to have 'Gauti' back in full flow

Sourav Ganguly | 2010-12-04 14:46:24


​The young Indian team is hungry to succeed and I firmly believe that they would like to finish off the series at Baroda. The Kiwis for some reason have not been able to hold on to their resolute mindset, ever since they tumbled in the third Test. Since then they have not been able to reorganize and I'll not be surprised, the way things are moving, if they are handed a clean slate by Gautam Gambhir and his team.

The stand-in captain is the man to watch out for at the moment. There was a lot of talk about this man when he had hit a rough patch, which is normal in every cricketer's life. Not only has he shut up the loose talk but has gone on to show what responsibility can do to someone. He is leading from the front and the knock he played at Jaipur just reposed the old saying, class is permanent. It's a very good thing to have 'Gauti' back in full flow, before the crucial South Africa series, as India will be requiring a confident Gautam Gambhir on South African soil.

India need to show a ruthless streak

It was also good to see Sreesanth bowling well and I must say that he is making a strong case for himself for the World Cup final squad. The selectors have done the right thing by resting him before the tough South Africa tour, as a fresh Sreesanth will be very much needed there. Zaheer Khan is back in the squad after getting himself fit and he will definitely use the remaining three matches to regain match fitness for the coming overseas tour.

Yusuf Pathan must be itching to perform in front of his home crowd. The selectors and captain can think of giving Pathan and Wriddhiman Saha a batting opportunity higher up, to assess their ability as batsmen, because there are not many games left before the World Cup for them to find a player at number seven. There is also a good case for Saurabh Tiwary to get a look in.

The Baroda wicket is generally a batting paradise and 300 runs is normally the asking for the day. It is a day game, so the dew factor will be out of question for both the captains. The wicket will help the seamers in the morning and the side winning the toss will have a slight inclination to put the opposition in.

India vs New Zealand

New Zealand needs to do something special in order to up the tempo of their batting because 250-260 will not win them games in India, especially with the kind of bowling attack they have. Vettori will be looking for McCullum to get fit, as he can bat positively at the top. Although Guptill scored runs in the first game, he has taken too many balls to score and that will not win matches for the team.

The Kiwis will have to play fearless cricket in order to make an impression in the next three games. McCullum needs to get fit to keep wickets and also bat in this game. This is something that the Kiwis will have to look into, as Hopkins is not contributing to the team's cause. There will be a bit of bounce in Baroda, which the Kiwis will like but a positive mindset will be the key to their success.

Professional Management Group


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