Battling the run drought

When the one-day caravan finally finds its way to Guwahati, where the 5th India-England ODI will be played on Sunday, two members of the Indian team - more than anyone else - will be relieved that the series was sealed 4-0 in Kochi itself. The first, is Mohammad Kaif, whose inexplicable horror run continues, and the second, Virender Sehwag, who has consistently threatened to score but failed to put a big knock on the board. Had India come to Guwahati with a series scoreline of 2-2, both players would have been under severe pressure to retain their places in the eleven.

Rahul Dravid, the captain, and Greg Chappell, the coach, have been at pains to point out that this team was not the kind to jettison a quality player simply because he was going through a rough patch. "When he [Sehwag] does fire he plays a very destructive role at the top and that is often very critical for us. We will do whatever we can to get him back into form," Dravid had said about concerns regarding Sehwag's form before the fourth game at Kochi.

One option the team had there was to push Sehwag down to the middle order, as they had done against South Africa in November. Even then, Sehwag was struggling with form, and the move away from the opening slot helped as he made 77 in the middle order at Bangalore.

In all this though, the team management cannot deny that Sehwag's dip is a cause for serious concern. That he is the most potent destroyer of an attack when in mood, when he makes it big, goes without saying. But what sort of strike rate is acceptable? One massive explosion followed by four damp squibs? One in five? One in ten? In a country where you're only as good as your last game, passionate fans have already begun raising slogans against Sehwag, questioning just how long a rope he will be given. So far that rope has extended to 37 innings without a century.

Fortunately for Sehwag, though, this Indian set-up is not one that bows down to popular sentiment when making critical choices. There can be no two arguments about naming him captain for the next two matches, as Dravid takes a breather, for that, more than anything else, will give him the reassurance, if he needed any, that his mates have not lost faith in him. And nor should they, for it is not as though his touch had deserted him altogether, or that he has suddenly lost the ability to bat. But somehow, watching him bat, that joy seems to have gone out of it. The face that once broke into a crooked smile after an audacious inside-out drive, now seems creased with worry after playing and missing. Now, when he walks out to bat at Guwahati, as captain, he can be sure that he is not batting for his place in the side. And he can take heart from the fact that he has got starts - 67, 7, 26, 15, 26 are his last five scores - in the recent past, and it could take just one big one to turn things around.

The situation is not so straightforward for Kaif. Although he made a vital 91 in the first Test against England at Nagpur, he was dropped for the second Test, along with VVS Laxman, as Yuvraj Singh came back to the team from injury, and India decided to play five bowlers. Kaif played no further part in the Test series, but when the ODIs came around he was back in the thick of things, working the singles, hunting down the twos, chipping the boundaries, and scored a match-winning hundred for Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI against England in a warm-up match. All, deceptively, appeared to be well. When the internationals unravelled, so did Kaif, barely able to scratch out a run.

Fortunately for Kaif he adds tremendous value to the team on the field. Even with Yuvraj tigerishly patrolling the point region, and Suresh Raina, the newest fielding sensation and perhaps the best allround fielder to play for India in a bit, floating around in vital positions, Kaif still holds his own at cover. It is a critical position, to either fast bowler or spinner, whether the team is attacking or defending, and Kaif is very much a part of any strategy the captain may implement on the field.

That said, no man, not even Jonathan "two thirds of the Earth is covered by water the rest by Jonty" Rhodes, can hold a place in a team on the strength of fielding alone. Kaif's numbers are dismal. 8, 5*, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 5, in his last eight knocks, an average of 22/7, 3.142857 ... If he remembers his high-school maths, Kaif will recognise that as the value of pi, the magic number that makes so many complex things so much simpler. If he remembers his cricketing basics, Kaif will recognise this 4-0 lead over England as a chance to turn things around, and get his groove back.