Sehwag must replace Laxman

The touring Zimbabwe team were no match for a strong home side in the first Test at Nagpur. The pitch was tailor-made to suit the Indian spinners and they bowled their team to an innings victory. It is a pity that the tourists failed to put up a fight and their abject surrender was sad to see.

The tactics the Zimbabwe think-tank employed were just beyond my comprehension. Stuart Carlisle claimed the new ball on the two available occasions and this helped India to accelerate their runrate. Given the fact that Raymond Price, the left-arm spinner, was the only bowler who looked like getting wickets, Carlisle should have used the old ball for as long as possible.

Price really impressed me. He gave the ball a lot of flight and the rewards were there to be seen. The most important thing is that he kept a positive outlook all through his long spell.

Moving on to the Indian batting, I must say that Shiv Sunder Das is one of our most improved batsmen. The diminutive opening batsman from Orissa should serve Indian cricket for many more years. Rahul Dravid too played reasonably well and seems to have recovered fully from his shoulder injury. Sachin Tendulkar, for his part, played an innings of character and the classic century reinforces his position as the world's best batsman. The little master made the most of the opportunity of batting against a weak bowling attack.

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It is a pity that Laxman failed once again. He has great talent, but harnessing it seems to be his biggest problem. On current form, the immensely talented Virender Sehwag should get the nod ahead of the stylish batsman from Hyderabad. It might sound a bit cruel, but in these days of professionalism there is hardly any room for complacency.

It was good to see Sanjay Bangar score a hundred. He will, though, have to prove his credentials against more formidable opponents if he is to seal the all-rounder's slot in the team.

Deep Dasgupta, meanwhile, is simply not up to the task of keeping to the bowlers and the Delhi Test must probably be his last opportunity to prove himself. I have always held that wicketkeeping is a specialised job and that you need to have your best wicketkeeper donning the gloves. The selectors would have to act fast and bring in Ajay Ratra.

Among the Indian quicks, Zaheer Khan was impressive. The left-arm pacer bowled with a lot of pace and determination in his comeback Test.

I cannot help but wonder, at this stage, why another talented left-arm pacer, Ashish Nehra, has not been picked for the Delhi Test. The selectors should have experimented rather than stick with the tried and tested players.

Among the spinners, Anil Kumble made full use of a crumbling track to pick nine wickets. Harbhajan Singh, who should have been the main strike bowler in Nagpur, was not as successful. If the young offspinner has to be the spearhead of the attack, he has to turn the ball a lot more than he does now.

It wouldn't be fair if I don't say a few words about the pitch in Nagpur. It is a sad story that we get to see tracks like this, which cracks up so fast. It definitely helps Kumble and Harbhajan, and the two spinners are capable of exploiting such conditions. With two long tours of the West Indies and England coming up, we could, however, have played on a more lively tracks. Playing on dead tracks, like the one in Nagpur, only infuses a false sense of confidence and hence complacency.

I don't see Zimbabwe putting up a fight in the next Test unless Andy Flower scores heavily. India are the definite favourites to seal a series whitewash in the Delhi. Perhaps the only change in the Indian team would be Sehwag playing in his home ground at the expense of Laxman.