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Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs

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India v West Indies, 1st ODI, Nagpur, January 21, 2007 Ganguly and Gambhir to open Siddhartha Vaidyanathan January 20, 2007 Sachin Tendulkar has an average of 48.27 as an opener but is likely to bat down the order till the World Cup as a back-up for eventualities like injury to Yuvraj Singh ? AFP Rahul Dravid has revealed that India have decided to slot Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order and hinted that the move could be used till the World Cup. He also announced that Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir will open the batting in the first game of the series, adding that a left-left combination was thought of to counter the West Indies opening bowlers. In the 12 that have been shortlisted for Nagpur, Joginder Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Rudra Pratap Singh failed to make an appearance. Dravid said that it would be a toss up between playing the extra spinner and the extra batsman for the final spot. Dravid emphasised the importance that the middle order would have on pitches in the West Indies and felt that India "needed to have their best players" in there. "Sachin will bat in the middle order tomorrow," said Dravid while addressing the media on the eve of the opening game of the four-match series. "We're not sure how Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] will shape up for us in the next few days. The middle overs in World Cup will be a critical part of equation and who better to play that role for us than Sachin. Also we had four openers in our squad so we needed to give people chances. Sachin is an option we need to explore in the middle order." Tendulkar has opened in 265 of his 374 one-dayers and enjoys an imposing average of 48.27 at the top. "We've spoken to Sachin about it and told him the reasons for it," said Dravid when asked about Tendulkar's readiness to drop down the order. "He has agreed to give it a go and understands the importance of it. He knows we need to have a back-up for eventualities [like the injury to Yuvraj] that may crop up before the World Cup." The decision offsets the much-hyped reunion between Ganguly and Tendulkar at the top, but Dravid detailed the reasons behind the move. "We did look at it opening with Ganguly and Sachin. But we do realise that finding a good middle-order player in West Indies is a lot harder than someone up the order. In one-day cricket, it's harder to bat when ball is older." India's last trip to the Caribbean was haunted by middle-order lethargy and Dravid referred to it as a vital area. "We have to consider who's the best player who can provide us the creativity between overs 15 and 40. It's probably going to be the toughest job in the World Cup. Make no mistake about it. If the wickets was anything to do with what I saw, it will be crucial. And every team knows that. Our best players need to play in that position." Was there an option to bat Ganguly in the middle order? "He's had a lot of success as opener and is coming back after a while,' Dravid reasoned. "We thought we'll play him where he's comfortable. The kind of attack West Indies have - the left-armer [ian Bradshaw] taking it across the right-handers, [Jerome] Taylor bringing it back into you - we thought left-handers will be useful at the top. Pakistan showed that. Some of their left-handers were able to take them down." Squad: Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth

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King Newbie

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs Pretty much like the last world cup I reckon. By the time WC arrives I'm quite sure there will be certain change in the batting line up and Tendulkar will find himself batting as an opener. All it will take is couple of failures or three by one of the top 2 openers for the team managment to come under pressrue. BTW I wonder where will Sehwag fit in when he makes a come back??? Surely they are not going to end up not selecting Sehwag for the WC.

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King Newbie

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs Rahul Dravid has revealed that India have decided to slot Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order and hinted that the move could be used till the World Cup. This is something I simply can't understand. Why should you try something that you are not going to do in the World cup??? :chin: Either way the middle order of : no.3 Yuvraj no.4 Tendulkar no.5 Rahul no.6 Sehwag no.7 Dhoni sounds a better proposition on paper. Whether it will work well is anybody's guess. I think Gambhir, Utappa and Ganguly can occupy the openers slots.

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observer1 Newbie

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs i am getting more and more disappointed by the selections. i would have thought ganguly, with his capacity to hit over the top would have fitted the middle order better. and, both he and gg are left-handers. tendulkar and gambhir followed by someone else, perhaps karthik, then ganguly and dravid is imo the best order

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs Tendu has been getting out cheaply quite often at the opener's slot these days. In big games, its almost a guarantee. Not a bad move to make him bat when the ball is old & the field is spread. He'll find it easy to settle in, in the middle order

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs i beg to differ - the fact he is getting out cheaply doesnt mean that he should be protected. opening is where he is, imo, at his best; and this tournament should be seen as a practice series to restore his self-belief, which he sadly needs.

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs Ganguly & Gambhir are aggressive stroke makers. If they click, we will have a decent opening pair. Given how badly we have performed at the top in ODIs, the only way is UP. I'd like to see Tendu/Sehwag at no. 3, if we get a good start

i beg to differ - the fact he is getting out cheaply doesnt mean that he should be protected. opening is where he is' date=' imo, at his best; and this tournament should be seen as a practice series to restore his self-belief, which he sadly needs.[/quote'] Tendu averages 25 in the last 10 games in the opening slot, most of the time getting out when the ball is new & doing a bit. Agreed on the point that we cant win the worldcup trying to protect our match winners, but the reality is that Tendu is old, he's no longer the match winner he used to be in ODIs. So we have to use our resources wisely. And its not like he runs away with the game, at the opener's spot, even when he comes off (He has two 50s in the last 10 games, both at a SR of less than 65) Batting Sehwag down the order is protection too. He hasnt been firing at the top lately. There is no harm in trying.
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Inside_edge Newbie

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Re: Tendulkar to bat in the middle overs

but the reality is that Tendu is old
Lara, Inzy,Jaya and Gili have shown that age is not a factor in ability to play fast cricket. Its obviously lack of fitness which has slowed his reflexes/agility. Bearing the brunt of 16 years of non-stop cricket on his not-so athletic body (right now too fat for his height) could be more valid excuse.
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