Windies win adds to India?s worries

India, who would use the tie to sort out team combination, will have to take it seriously.

It was meant to be a mere formality for Sri Lanka as they took on West Indies in their last day-night league encounter.

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Instead, West Indies, against all odds, beat the hosts by 33 runs to create more problems for an Indian team already struggling to find its feet. India, who were thinking of using their match against the West Indies on Sunday to sort out their team combination, will now have to take the match much more seriously. A loss against them would mean the embarrassment of not playing the final.

Even the West Indians were not expecting this result as they had already made their return bookings for Monday, one day before the final is to be played.

Skipper Shivnaraine Chanderpaul decided to open the innings and played his part to perfection by sharing a match winning 72-run partnership with Sylvester Joseph.

And when it came to the Lankan batting, the West Indies bowlers shared the spoils and the Indians now have to to rethink their game plan.

The Indians before this stunning result were thinking of continuing with their experiments in search of the best possible combination that could beat the Sri Lankans in the final.

Both Greg Chappell and skipper Rahul Dravid had hinted at trying two spinners keeping in mind Colombo's heat and humidity.

The Indians are beset with many problems. All-rounder JP Yadav could have been one option but coach Greg Chappell, according to reports, is not too convinced with his abilities.

Another factor worrying the India camp is Virender Sehwag's poor run. His low scores coupled with below par bowling has added to India's problems.

However, Dravid wasn't too worried about this. "Sehwag is an explosive player who has been very consistent over the years. He just started a bit slowly and was looking very good in the last game. I'm hoping that he has regained his confidence," the Indian skipper said.

With both Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh fit, India have, for the first time in this series the option to choose from all 16 members.

"It's going to be hotter and less windy here. We always had to keep the wind factor in mind in Dambulla. Now, we'll have to manage the heat by drinking enough fluids to stay fit," said the Indian skipper.

"We have the advantage of being here for the last 10 to 12 days and are used to the conditions," added Dravid.

On the question of offering a chance to everyone before the final, Dravid said: "We have been trying to create a squad mentality by giving every player opportunities. But then it's not always possible to do that; some guys might miss out," he added.

The captain was not willing to term the experiments in Sri Lanka as a rotation policy. "We are looking at getting the best combination in a few months time."

Whatever Chappell's long-term vision for the Indian team may be, a defeat on Sunday against a West Indies team without the services of their six frontline players will have serious repercussions for him and captain Dravid back home.