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Player of the Match
Player of the Match

India to rest key players against Scotland

Forty eight hours ago an Atlantic storm lashed Glasgow so furiously that the picturesque Clydesdale Cricket Club, the venue of India's first-ever one-day international against Scotland on Thursday, resembled a duck pond. It was feared then that, as with the India-Pakistan clash in early July, when not a ball could be bowled, Scotland's fourth international venue would have to wait a bit longer to stage an international game.

However, as at Trent Bridge, where the rains threatened to wash out the second Test, the Indians were greeted today by sunny skies. Dampness caused by the overnight rain ruled out a net session but the players warmed up in balmy weather with the ground bathed in sunshine. Overcast conditions were predicted for the match-day, though the rain is "expected" to stay away.

There was a hungover, relaxed, cheery air to the fielding session, one that lasted an hour and a half. Running between the wickets, stopping boundary-balls, attempting direct hits - under-arm, side-arm and over-arm - took place with schoolboy enthusiasm. Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh and Greg King were relentless, harrying the "boys" without respite. Venky has a charming way of egging players on, one of which involves talking in different tongues, and orchestrated an intense throw session.

Eight of India's squad didn't take part in the Test series, one that would have left those involved physically, mentally and emotionally spent. Indications are that all eight will take the field tomorrow, as well as in the warm-up game against England Lions in Northampton on August 18. "I spoke to the young guys and they're the ones who'll have to drive us this week," said an upbeat Rahul Dravid. "They're the ones who have to show the eagerness and keenness and raise the bar. They've rested, they're keen and they will want to put in some important performances."

Someday in the future cricket's version of Mohammad Ali will sit on the podium and announce: "We're taking this game very lightly. All our main players are resting but we expect to pulp these minnows." Dravid was the exact opposite. "Given these conditions, anything can happen," he said. "When I was in Scotland [in mid 2003] we played against Pakistan here. And Pakistan won by one wicket. That was the full Pakistan team. We should have won but Danish Kaneria got the runs. Scotland will know they'll probably have a chance - if this game was in India it would be completely different. But we're not going to take anything for granted."

Going by performances in the World Cup both teams start on level terms. Neither made it to the Super Eight stage but India, with a solitary win over Bermuda, edge ahead. Scotland, winless at the World Cup, have shown signs of improvement since, running both West Indies and Ireland close in the recent Quadrangular Series in Belfast. Ryan Watson, their captain, averaged 38 in the three matches while Majid Haq, the offspinner, ended on top of the wickets list.

The game, if it's allowed to take place, will be the first of 20 one-dayers that India are scheduled to play till year-end. Seven one-dayers against England follow, before seven home ODIs against Australia and five against Pakistan. In between is the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Some non-reliable source has been spreading news about matches in Fiji and Colombia. Don't believe it but stranger things have happened.

"We have a chance to concentrate on the one-day game over the next few months," said Dravid. "After World Cup disappointment we need to get more consistent, use a larger pool of players. We had a good run last year and we need to see what we did right then. We can take a lot of confidence from the way we played in Belfast [beating South Africa 2-1]. And we'll see how we can tinker around a bit and get a good one-day combination."

Munaf Patel is returning to the Indian side after a three-month break but the weather prevented him from having a bowl today. "Venky's had a look at him [Munaf] and we're very happy that he went through a good fielding session. He's played two games in Bangalore [Diamond Jubilee Tournament organised by KSCA]. It's nice to see him back. He's been one of our better one-day bowlers with a good economy-rate. I'm as keen as anyone else to see how he goes tomorrow."

India (likely) 1 Robin Uthappa, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Piyush Chawla, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Ramesh Powar, 10 RP Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.

Scotland (likely) 1 Fraser Watts, 2 Navdeep Poonia, 3 Ryan Watson (capt), 4 Gavin Hamilton, 5 Collin Smith (wk), 6 Neil McCullum, 7 Craig Wright, 8 Majid Haq, 9 John Blain, 10 Dewald Nel, 11 Paul Hoffman.

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India 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st104G GambhirRV Uthappa
2nd33G GambhirKD Karthik
3rd61Yuvraj SinghG Gambhir
4th14R DravidG Gambhir