Sehwag's poor form is worrying

Virender Sehwag is now a matter of concern for the Indians. Nobody doubts his ability but that does not translate into runs and India need them badly. He will have one more chance to atone for his failure in the final of the triangular series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

You do wonder if the status of a senior member of the side, as well as vice-captain, has made him conscious of his role. Sehwag is best when he is carefree. He has not looked normal. May be he is consciously trying to bat 50 overs; may be he does not want to go for booming shots early in the innings. But Indians are feeling the pinch. Suggestions that new coach might be fiddling with Sehwag's technique is a whole lot of nonsense. You do not change his technique just as you do not ask Sanath Jayasuriya to bat different to his nature. But Sehwag can do a lot if he can just walk in without a care in the world.

VVS Laxman is another story. He is struggling badly. He is one of the most senior members of the side but in one-day cricket he is still finding his feet. He does not inspire the confidence to be part of the Indian eleven in the finals. He does not have the sense of urgency which India presently need.

The injury to Sourav Ganguly off a short-pitched delivery will once again raise the old bogey of his weakness. But then the wickets of sub-continent help the fast bowlers with its own vagaries. Unlike Australia or South Africa where the ball comes at even pace and height, the ones in the sub-continent are generally not true. I still carry the image of Ganguly of previous years when he was good at hooking and pulling. May be he should start doing it more often once again.

Unlike these seniors, Anil Kumble has reasons to be happy with his first one-day match of the new season. He bowled excellently and has results to show. He was fired up and now it would be difficult to keep him out of the fray. Harbhajan Singh does not deserve to sit in the shade either. I would not be surprised if both the spinners are picked for the finals. Both are top quality spin bowlers and can create pressure in tandem.

The Indians would be disappointed with their effort in the field. With all my experience, I can safely say that they have never been a good fielding unit. This issue has plagued Indian cricket for so long. I remember that even Sri Lanka did not have the reputation of being fit players. It all changed in 1996 when players were put through the drill and they began to enjoy the experience. Soon the results began to flow. It is now a part of Sri Lanka's cricket's culture. The Indians need to address quite a few issues if they want to seriously become a force in one-day cricket. To me they look extremely ordinary in the field. The pick-ups are not clean and pure and throws from the outfield are weak. They are still not at their best and struggling. Some positives have emerged though with the middle order finally coming good in a crunch game.

Yuvraj, we all know, is extremely talented but for variety of reasons he has not been consistent. His hundred against the West Indies on Monday showed how much annoyed he was with his own form. Some of his shots were breathtaking and dispirited the West Indies. Mohammad Kaif was the ideal foil and played an extremely busy innings. He also later fielded under lights which was a reflection on his fitness.

West Indies go back with the knowledge that they tried as best as they could. Most of them were complete strangers to international cricket and yet they had their moments in practically every match they played in Sri Lanka. Their bowling and fielding impressed everyone and by the end of the tour even the batsmen had begun to make handy contributions. We will never know how much of a difference Shivnarine Chanderpaul's presence would have made to the small deficit of seven runs which sent West Indies packing from the tournament.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are in the finals as a matter of routine and it would take some inspired performance from the Indians to stop them in their tracks. One thing which the Indians should try to take advantage of is that the top order of Sri Lanka have not really clicked for them. It has been lower order batsmen who have rallied to wins or respectable scores. The Indians should target the first four batsmen and keep the pressure on the rest of the batting. One thing is for sure, they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas pedal.