The Indian Oil Cup - Uhh..what now?

The good part about the Indian Oil Cup is that it comes at a time when the focus of the cricketing fraternity is on the big battle up north between the old foes. This gives the teams some breathing space in terms of performance and also some time to iron out some deficiencies before the long season ahead. The outcome of this tournament is not really important to the three teams as much as identifying a core group of players who can take them to the 2007 World cup. The sad part about this triangular is that this could have been a cracking contest had the contracts dispute in the Windies been resolved and the likes of Lara, Gayle and Sarwan been there. Now its just a tournament where the teams appearing in the final is a foregone conclusion and Windies play the role Bangladesh played in the Natwest series, hoping for an upset here and a bit of international exposure for some of the kids in the team.

Of the three teams Sri Lanka seem to easily be the favorites to take the cup. They have a more settled look to their side with the old guns Atapattu and Jayasuriya in there. Jayawardane didn't exactly rattle the cages in the test series but is a class player and Sangakkara is in brilliant form, making his omission from the World XI for the super-series puzzling. The bowling attack has been similar for a while and their tactics have remained the same at home; choke the runs with a bunch of slow bowlers and let the opposition try their luck with that man, Murali. A more important concern for the team would be to find a reliable opening partner for Jayasuriya. India on the other hand is here without Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, something that has not happened for a while. And even though Ganguly's ban has been reduced, it will be interesting to see if he is drafted into the team, especially if one of the younger players (Suresh Raina most probably) fires in the opening matches. Also interesting for India will be the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. He is leading this team for a full series for the first time, and his methods might be food for thought for the selectors who have subtly indicated that Ganguly's days might be numbered if his poor form continues. As for West Indies, they have nothing to lose and are probably in the best position to show some spirit in the field. They did show some fight in the two test matches which indicates they have some talent. The one-dayers might give them a chance to spring a surprise or two. The series also marks the ODI debut for Tom Moody and overall debut for Greg Chappell as international coaches. Even though it would be too early to judge their methods, it might provide an insight into their vision for the teams.

I've bought the live streaming webcast package for the first two India matches over the weekend and the finals next weekend. I'll be trying my hand at live blogging for these two games ah la Will & Avinash. Hope it's as much fun as it looks on the blog. If not, I'll just go back to writing reviews at the end of the match. Much easier and you can read everybody else's opinion before forming yours :-).

Elsewhere New Zealand leave for their Zimbabwe tour...ho hum.

Coverage of the Indian Oil Cup at Cricinfo.