which left is right?

Published>Sun, Aug 01 10 09:27 AM

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may not have a wealth of talent at his disposal when it comes to his bowling resources, but he will have a pleasant headache when the team management sits down to pick the playing XI for the third Test.

Yuvraj Singh has occupied the No.6 position in the batting line-up. The spot now has a new claimant in the form of Suresh Raina, who made a century on debut in the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

It's been a roller-coaster ride for Yuvraj Singh. He was dropped for the Asia Cup after the selectors believed his fitness levels had fallen. It was meant to be a wake-up call of sorts for the talented southpaw. Included for the Test series against Sri Lanka, Yuvraj made a half-century in the first innings but fell cheaply in the second ? both times outdone by Muttiah Muralitharan. Flu resulted in him missing the second Test. Suresh Raina played in Yuvraj's place and made full use of his solitary knock.

On Saturday, the selectors reposed faith once again in Yuvraj when they named him in the tri-series squad. His place in the playing XI for the third Test is not yet set in stone. Raina impressed even before he started batting in the first innings at the SSC. In the cover region he was electric and saved certain boundaries. The India Test team looked a much better fielding side when Raina was diving about and stopping runs.

His batting was even more impressive. During his 294-minute stay at the wicket, Raina looked the part. If there were nerves, he didn't show it. Knowing that the bouncer was his Achilles heel, the Sri Lanka medium-pacers peppered him with short balls. Raina ducked inside the line of the ball.

Raina was calm and collected at the wicket during his 256-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Dhoni voiced a similar opinion, as Tendulkar did about Raina. "He has been a real positive cricketer. Not just while batting, but whenever he is given the ball or even while fielding ? if you see in the Test match we fielded for close to two days and he was active throughout running around. That really makes a difference and it reflects into your batting. His intensity when he was playing each and every ball was high. Even after scoring the hundred, he didn't get complacent. He deserved a century on debut," Dhoni said.

The Indian skipper, however, held his cards close to his chest when asked who among Raina and Yuvraj would make the cut for the third Test. "It's a perfect question to ask, which means if I answer it right now, there will be four days of coverage. So I would prefer to keep it with me for the next three days and we just have to wait till 9.30 on the day of the start of the next Test match," Dhoni said.

That said, it will be difficult for Dhoni to look beyond Yuvraj, the batsman. But Raina's 120, in a crucial time in the game, will be fresh in the Indian skipper's mind.

Source: Web Search