Das hopes to make a big impression
Special Correspondent - 11 April 2002
The batsman he idolises got 774 runs at a mind-boggling average of 154.80 in his debut series here in the Caribbean almost 31 years ago. But the 25-year-old Shiv Sunder Das, with 1202 Test runs at an average of 40.06 (two centuries against Zimbabwe), knows well that emulating Sunil Gavaskar is probably impossible.
India's most dependable opener after Navjot Singh Sidhu, however, is a born optimist; he wants to score big hundreds in this series. "In fact, that's the only area where I have failed in my previous tours. I played reasonably well in South Africa and Zimbabwe, but failed to convert those fifties into three-figure marks. My second hundred in Nagpur boosted my confidence. I am now eager to make the most of it and concentrate more," said Das.
Already, he has had seven opening partners in the 18 Tests in which he has appeared for the country. He is not complaining though. "It is an area where I can do nothing. If you are playing with a particular partner for some days, it improves on-the-wicket understanding. But basically, our (the openers') job remains the same - to allow the batsmen scheduled to come later more freedom by seeing the polish off the new ball and putting some runs on the board," he said.
For the last six Tests, however, he has been opening with Deep Dasgupta and it is more than likely that the duo will open in the Guyana Test too. Dasgupta might have struggled behind the stumps, but with the batting gloves on, he averages almost 40 at the top of the order. So the team management is in favour of giving him a couple more opportunities.
"Since we both come from the same zone, we have had earlier experience of batting together. He did play well and we have a good understanding. The way he played in South Africa was simply superb," Das said about Dasgupta.
The Orissa opener, meanwhile, had his preparatory sessions on the matting wickets of Bhubaneshwar, where the pacers were asked to bowl to him from 18-yards with wet tennis balls. "I did so to master the lifting deliveries and the pace. I know the West Indian bowling attack, sans Walsh and Ambrose, seems vulnerable, but on their own grounds, they can be formidable.
"And although, they are losing outside their country consistently, they are still the team to beat in their own backyard. So, I'd tried to be as prepared as I could. I even watched the West Indies, Pakistan series in Sharjah to have a feel of how their faster bowlers bowl. I now know how Dillon and Cuffy bowl. That will be an advantage for me since I'll be playing them for the first time in a Test match," Das said.
The West Indian wickets have become increasingly lifeless over the last few years. But Indian batsmen, as we all know, have always discovered new ways and new bowlers to get out whenever they have been abroad. And the capitulation had always begun at the top of the order. Das is determined to do his bit to put an end to that. If he succeeds, Sourav Ganguly's India would surely be grateful.
© CricInfo
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