India cannot afford to repeat Ahmedabad follies in Kanpur

Amlan Chakraborty
Kanpur, Nov 23 (PTI) Their batting inconsistency and
bowling frailties laid bare in the hard-earned draw in India's
western city of Ahmedabad, India will go into the second
cricket Test against Sri Lanka Tuesday hoping not to repeat
the follies again.
The famed Indian batting line-up both embarrassed and
redeemed itself in the Ahmedabad shirtfront, where it
collapsed like a house of cards in the first innings and then
rose from its ruins in the second to salvage a draw from the
jaws of a seemingly imminent defeat.
But to expect such resurgence everyday would be to invite
trouble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men would do well to learn
the lessons from their Ahmedabad escapade and mend their way.
On a placid track where nearly 1600 runs were scored,
including seven centuries -- a subcontinental record -- and
just 21 wickets fell over five days, nothing could gloss over
the Indian top order's inconsistency.
The Indian camp has called in wicket-keeper batsman
Dinesh Karthik as cover for captain Dhoni who is nursing a
minor finger injury.
The Indian stumper hurt his finger in the Ahmedabad Test
but the team management said it was not a serious injury and
the Indian captain was likely to take the field on the morrow.
The fact that Dhoni batted and bowled in Sunday's practice
session was proof that the injury was not serious. More PTI