India rely on 'magnificent seven' to tame Ireland
BANGALORE: It's exactly one week now since the famous India-England tie at the same Chinnaswamy Stadium that is all set to stage the India-Ireland game on Sunday. That was a match all of Bangalore, most of India and parts of England couldn't wait for. Strangely enough, most of it hasn't changed, just put all of Ireland in the place of part of England and you have the same scenario all over again.
Forget about the glorious uncertainties of cricket, let us not dwell on whether or not it is a funny game. The game on Sunday can only be lost by India if they play terribly, coupled with another sterling display from the Irishmen. The gulf is that wide and even the flashing blade of an Ed Joyce or Kevin O'Brien, who lit up Wednesday night with his wonderful pyrotechnics, cannot really be expected to bridge it time and again, night after night.
Of course, should Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have his way with the coin, Ireland will not get to bat in the night. Having watched first hand how Andrew Strauss and company blasted away last weekend and then watched on television at a friend's place how Strauss and the same company got similar treatment, Dhoni was quite clear that his side would look to chase on this Chinnaswamy Stadium track where the ball comes on better under lights.
There are many ways to look at this. In the old days, teams always preferred to know the target but these days they prefer setting them, more because of the pressure factor while chasing. Runs on the board are the key, especially when weighed against chasing under lights in normal circumstances.
Put yourselves in Ireland skipper William Porterfield's shoes though. Should he decide to bat first or is inserted in, how much should his side look to set against a line-up that reads Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan? Up against that very order will be the likes of Trent Johnston, Boyd Rankin (pacers) and Goerge Dockrell (left-arm spinner), so no total may be enough.
There is the other thought, again from an Indian viewpoint. While a strong batting side should be thinking let the opposition get what they can, we will get one more and finish it off and that way there's less pressure on the relatively weaker bowling, it may not be the only way. For, there's always the fact that a big first innings total will add to the pressure of the chase and in the process give the bowling the edge it may otherwise lack.
Any which way you look at it, an expected full house at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, the second for an Irish cricket team (Mirpur was the first), can be said to be the least of the problems for the visitors. India's probable two and two combination, spinning track or not, nothing will matter as much as the big blades of the Indian batsmen.