St Kitts: Under fire for their skewed selection policy in the first two matches, India were grappling with their bowling combination as they seek to break the series deadlock and go 1-0 up in the third cricket Test against the West Indies starting at St Kitts on Thursday.
Riled much by former cricketers and media back home for missing an extra bowler in the preceding two Tests which it could well have won, the Indian team management is choosing defiance over common-sense ahead of the crucial encounter.
Coach Greg Chappell began the tour as a promoter of five-bowler theory but by now is asserting that he wants to make sure his batsmen make big runs to pressurise the opposition, never mind if it is only four men manning the attack.
Captain Rahul Dravid is singing the same tune and swearing by four bowlers who nearly did the job in the last game.
He is taking a lot of heart from how Virender Sehwag bowled in the last Test in St Lucia.
While Indian team did everything but pull the noose in the first two games, it probably missed off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in the attack whose stock delivery leaves the left-hander of whom there are at least three in the top six of the West Indian line-up
But Dravid has dismissed criticism about leaving out Harbhajan Singh for the first two Tests, saying Virender Sehwag as part-time bowler has performed the fifth bolwer's role efficiently.
"Harbhajan is a good bowler so when he is fit, he always comes into consideration. But then four bowlers did the job for us in the last game," Dravid said on Tuesday.
"In an ideal scenario, we would have liked to have five bowlers but Veeru has done the job for us. He adds extra string in the bow for us."
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The issue of Harbhajan is a live one among cricket fans and experts for the Indian team clearly missed his services in the first two Tests.
The third Test starts from Thursday.
Harbhajan had bowled brilliantly in the One-Day series, was rested in the first Test and was only half-fit when the game began in St Lucia.
In Harbhajan's absence, India played an inexperienced attack in the first Test.
Between Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and VRV Singh, the experience was of no more than four Tests.
In the second too, Irfan Pathan was included but despite his two wickets, he didn't appear a frontline option for India.
The situation was saved by Virender Sehwag who picked up four wickets each in the first two Tests and provided breakthroughs whenever the team needed it.
His scalp included no less than that of Brian Lara.
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