A slow Basin Reserve pitch will encourage the Indians to use spin twins in the second cricket test.
By Richard Boock
The condition of the Basin Reserve pitch in Wellington will tempt the Indian cricket selectors to play teenage offspinner Harbhajan Singh in the second test against New Zealand which begins this morning at the Basin Reserve.
He has been included in the Indian test 12 and if the tourists arrive at the ground this morning to find the pitch looking as slow and as soft as it did yesterday, he seems likely to play ahead of third seam candidate Debashish Mohanty.
Both teams had been expecting the Basin Reserve to live up to its recent reputation of assisting the quick bowlers, but India gave a hint of their thoughts at practice yesterday when part-time seamer Saurav Ganguly and Harbhajan put in lengthy bowling spells at the nets.
If Harbhajan does play, India will carry only two specialist seam bowlers into this Bank of New Zealand test, with Ganguly entrusted with the third seamer's role and Harbhajan and legspinner Anil Kumble looking after the twirly stuff.
It might be that the track looks so moist this morning that Mohanty is invited to play in his third test, but coach Anshuman Gaekwad appears to be leaning more towards a second spin option.
Speaking after practice yesterday, Gaekwad said he liked the sound of India batting first and then unleashing their spinners in the fourth innings, but he was wary of trying to play the game before it actually started.
"We may try and bat first, but there's still a lot of moisture in the pitch so we'll wait until morning," he said. "We have to be careful we don't end up opting to bat first on a sticky, juicy track. You can't think too much about the fourth innings at this stage, because if you play poorly in the first the match is over."
Harbhajan, with two test caps, has not played in an international since being dropped by the Indian selectors before the Coca-Cola Cup and mini World Cup one-day tournaments after doubts were raised over his action.
The 18-year-old was flown to England by the International Cricket Council and received remedial therapy from former MCC offspinner Fred Titmus, although Indian cricket commentators believe his action is unaltered.
Gaekwad also passed a vote of faith in his vice-captain and opening batsman Ajay Jadeja who, after suffering an ankle strain at Carisbrook earlier in the week, watched rival opener V.V.S. Laxman score 82 in the exhibition one-day match.
"Laxman got a chance and performed, but he'll have to wait his turn," Gaekwad said after naming the test 12.
"It wasn't really a hard decision because as soon as Ajay returned to fitness he deserved his place back."
India have not won a test in New Zealand since 1976 - when offspinner Erapelli Prasanna took eight for 76 at Eden Park - and although enjoying a highly successful season this year have lost their previous two tests, against Australia and Zimbabwe.
New Zealand have also had injury concerns in the build-up to this test, with Simon Doull passed fit only yesterday and captain Stephen Fleming restricted by the groin strain he aggravated in Dunedin.
Doull, the Kiwis' leading strike-bowler, with 83 test wickets, was given the green light by the selectors after bowling a couple of four-over spells and completing a fielding session. He looked about 90 per cent but nevertheless met the requirements of coach Steve Rixon.
"I've passed him fit, the physio's passed him fit and Simon says he's fit," Rixon said. "So there had better not be a chance of him breaking down. Simon's the best judge and he's a pretty honest guy. He's quite at ease with his decision."
The Kiwi coach said he was confident his players would have no trouble adjusting to the new experience of a Boxing Day test, and believed they were on target, well-prepared and enthusiastic.
"I'm happy with everything, really. "We just have to make sure we don't drift off into la-la land because we're unused to playing the day after Christmas."
India: Mohammad Azharuddin (captain), Navjot Sidhu, Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkat Prasad, Harbhajan Singh, Debashish Mohanty.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Matt Horne, Matthew Bell, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Adam Parore, Chris Cairns, Dion Nash, Daniel Vettori, Simon Doull, Geoff Allott, Paul Wiseman.
Cricket: India look to play teenager
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