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Chennai: Middle order batsman Suresh Raina and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will play Sunday's World Cup Group B match against West Indies, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hinted on Saturday.
"You have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the playing XI but by the start of the knockout stage, everyone would have played at least one game," Dhoni said.
Dhoni's backing of Piyush Chawla over Ashwin, even when the leg-spinner generously conceded runs, baffled many and pressure was mounting on the Indian captain to give the off-spinner a chance in his home town.
Raina could not find a place for himself in a middle order teeming with stroke-players.
Dhoni conceded India's famed batting line-up, which lost nine wickets for 29 runs in their last match against South Africa, has been inconsistent but reckoned they are better prepared now going into the knockout stage.
"One good thing that has happened so far is that everybody has got a chance to bat, under pressure or no pressure, chasing and batting first. That's a big positive," he said.
Dhoni also took the occasion to pay tribute to Sachin Tendulkar who is one century away from scoring his 100th ton in international cricket.
The West Indians are an unpredictable side, capable of being destructive one day and capitulating the very next, and India would hope that the Caribbeans turn out to be the latter of their two sides.
Too reliant on Chris Gayle on the batting front, the Windies would be hoping that the batsman turns up at his destructive best while India would be aiming to send him back as quickly as possible.
India's collapse against the South Africans, losing nine wickets for 29 runs, despite yet another solid batting display by Tendulkar (111) exposed the chinks in the much-touted batting armour.
Dhoni was expectedly livid after that and slammed the batsmen for playing to the galleries and not for the country.
The three-day long rest period after the Nagpur fiasco must have helped the players to regroup and mentally prepare for the crucial tie against West Indies.
India have a slight edge over West Indies whose three-match winning streak - albeit against lowly teams - was halted by England.
Captained by Darren Sammy, the side comprising several youngsters, faces a must-win situation and need big partnerships if it wants to pose any real challenge to the hosts.
West Indies vulnerability to pressure situations came to the fore against England when they lost four wickets for just three runs in 21 deliveries after sitting pretty at 222 for 6 needing only 22 runs more at that stage for victory.
Carrying the underdog tag, the West Indies side has been untested barring the match against South Africa in which they lost and could not hold their nerves in the end against England despite a flying start by Gayle (43).
Teams from
India: MS Dhoni (C & WK), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Virender Sehwag (VC), S Sreesanth
West Indies: Darren Sammy (C), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Kirk Edwards, Devon Thomas (WK), Devendra Bishoo
Pitch and conditions
Expect another baked turner with a hard square that should facilitate reverse-swing. For those looking for respite from the Chennai heat, the following is not good news. Chance of precipitation on Sunday: 0%.
Stats and trivia
Head-to-head
Match facts
Sunday March 20, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)
