Indians on a blind date with Murali
Apart from injured Sachin, there's no Indian player who has a decent record against Murali.
With none of the top six Indian batsmen having much of a record against ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, only theories are being worked upon in the Indian camp at the moment.
As Murali has become the bowler that he is in the last five years -- full of variety, deception, spin and bounce, the Indians are finding it difficult to draw some comfort from their track record in this period.
In the last five years, beginning June 2000, Rahul Dravid has hit only two half centuries in 15 one-day internationals, totaling 502 runs, against Sri Lanka.
VVS Laxman has featured in no more than five one-dayers with 133 runs and one half century to show while Virender Sehwag hardly appears the batsman that he is in figures: 321 runs from 13 ODIs at 29.18 against the Lankans.
Young guns Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif do not offer any light either. Yuvraj has managed 319 runs from 16 one-dayers at 26.50 while Kaif has not hit a single half century in nine matches, only 133 runs at 26.60.
M S Dhoni starts his slate clean.
Murali, on the other hand, has grown to an eye-straining height in this period. With 'doosra' and all that, he has taken 286 wickets in his last 41 Tests; and 182 scalps in 134 one-day games in the last five years.
Murali spins it big either way, which is accentuated with the bounce he generates. He rarely bowls a short ball and delivers only at the last minute.
As former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga says "you commit yourself early to Murali and it is difficult to make late adjustments".
Indians, one learns, will try to close their ranks and look to see Murali off without much damage. He is difficult to hit boundaries so the attempt will be to work him around in the field. Importantly, whoever gets his eyes in, must see Murali through.
Coach Greg Chappell looks for a steady start from the openers, never mind if they are not explosive in the first 15 overs. With wickets in hand, they can afford to take calculated risks against Murali.
Not that Sri Lankans do not understand the situation. They try to bring Murali on only when a wicket has just fallen.
There is no set pattern with which they use Murali's overs. Their field placements too is immaculate: at least five fielders on the onside with straightish midwicket and mid-on inside the ring encouraging batsmen to go over the top. As for cutting on the offside against the break of Murali, you do it at your own risk.
Unlike other spinners, Murali also keeps a few close-in fielders in one-day arena. He likes to convey to the batsmen that he is in hunt for his wicket, and containment can be done by others.
It is little wonder that Rahul Dravid was seen asking bowlers to rough up the area on the off-stump in the practice sessions. He has been seen attempting a lot of reverse sweeps, and the unorthodox methods are being embraced by other batsmen too.
Conventional methods have rarely worked against an unconventional bowler like Murali.
As for Murali, it is only a business as usual. He regrets that Brian Lara does not figure on the roll nor does Sachin Tendulkar, two batsmen who arguably play him the best.
"I love the challenge of bowling to somebody like Lara and Tendulkar. It is disappointing that I haven't bowled to Tendulkar in a Test at all in the last eight-nine years. In the triangular, these two names will be missed."
The Indians, meanwhile, are buckling down to see how they shape up against one of the greatest bowler in the game's history. It is daunting enough for them, not to speak for one of the three new names -- Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao and JP Yadav -- who would take the number seven slot in the line-up.
Chappell has talked about the importance of creativity and consistency; technique allied with the heart for battle. In the next fortnight or so, Murali will ask some serious questions to Indian batsmen on the values their coach wants them to inculcate.
