Bridgetown: Indian bowlers will have to adjust their line, length on a bouncy Kensington Oval pitch, said MS Dhoni, insisting that adapting to conditions would be the key to winning, the second cricket Test against West Indies.
Leading 1—0 in the three—match series after clinching the opener by 63 runs, Dhoni said, “It’s important that pacers adapt themselves for on a wicket with more bounce, they need to bowl fuller to get bowled and lbw dismissals.” “Length will be the absolute key,” he added.
Having identified the pitch as one with extra zip, Dhoni also said he would prefer to go with a 3—1 bowling option in the Test. It implies that leg—spinner Amit Mishra will make way for Munaf Patel, who seems to have recovered from his elbow injury as he bowled at full tilt in the nets yesterday.
Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar will be two other medium pacers while Habrhajan Singh will be the lone spinner. Dhoni had little doubt that Ishant and Praveen will work up a good combination and pose a threat to the host batsmen. “Ishant has played a lot of Test matches and knows what to do to different batsmen. He is one of our main bowlers and forms an ideal combination with Praveen Kumar.
“They are different, for Praveen swings the ball while Ishant is a back—of—length bowler.” Dhoni also praised Harbhajan who is just four wickets away from completing the 400—wicket haul in Tests. “He is close to another landmark - 100 Test matches for India. He leads the spinners pack and has also done very well in batting. He is a good, aggressive character to have and when you need a breakthrough, you always find Bhajji there eager to provide one for the team,” said Dhoni.