By Vijay Tagore- Roston Chase was conspicuously absent from the West Indies team sheet for their Super 8 match on Monday (February 23) against Zimbabwe, but it would not be a surprise if he returns when they face India about a week from now. “Stay tuned,” said Shai Hope. The West Indies captain was predictably cagey, refusing to discuss the team strategy.
The 33-year-old Chase is an accomplished off-spinner in the West Indies ranks: a skill set that could be particularly vital against India. Off-spinners are in high demand lately, and recent trends demonstrate the point: in India’s last three games, opposition sides opened the bowling with an off-spinner, and reaped instant success. After having played in all four league games and done well, Chase found himself consigned to the sidelines in the West Indies’ first Super 8 contest.
It may not have been a surprise if the West Indies management made a conscious decision to leave the Barbadian all-rounder out of the XI at the Wankhede on Monday night. He has had reasonable success in the World Cup so far – scores of 34, and 24 with the bat and figures of 3/29 and 1/10 with the ball. Given India’s first over struggles in the last three games, Chase can be the X-factor for the March 1 clash, which could potentially be the quarterfinal for the sides.
Dropping him for the Zimbabwe game may well be a well-calibrated strategy call not to expose him ahead of the high-stakes India encounter. “Got to wait and see, who knows. When I flick the toss and hand in my team, then we all know who is playing on that day – stay tuned,” the West Indies captain said, smiling mischievously after his side handed giant-killers Zimbabwe, who had earlier shocked Australia and Sri Lanka, a 107-run drubbing on Monday night.
Hope, anyway, did not need the expertise of Chase against Zimbabwe, his other two spinners did the job for the side. Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie pulverised Zimbabwe with their flight, length, line and turn. Although the Wankhede pitch was not exactly a turner, they still managed to strangle the Zimbabwe batters.
“I enjoy bowling in tandem with Motie. And like you rightfully said, the ball has been flying around at Wankhede in the last couple of games, so it’s good for us to get some success here. We’ve just been practising hard. We had a couple of sessions here.
“Sometimes you turn up and think the pitch isn’t spinning when you look at the opposition bowl, but then you have to go out there and make your own assessment and see what’s going on. It worked for us today – there was a lot of spin for us. (I’m) very happy that we could get some success,” Hosein said after West Indies bundled out Zimbabwe for 147.
Hosein, the 32-year-old experienced left-arm spinner, opened the attack for the West Indies after his side posted a massive 254 for 6, the highest total in this edition of the World Cup and the second highest in tournament history. He finished with figures of 3 for 28, claiming the scalps of Brian Bennett (5), Ryan Burl (0) and Blessing Muzarabani (0).
“Wankhede is not spin-friendly for me. I’ve barely played here, but so far I think it’s a tricky one. It’s not a venue where you can just come and toss the ball. The ball does fly quite easily; it does travel. So again, it’s about picking your battles and understanding what the pitch is offering. It’s not one where you can just come and toss the ball, and it’s not one where you can just come and bowl too quickly either,” the left-arm spinner said.
Motie, a left arm wrist spinner, was more successful than his spin partner, claiming the scalps of Dion Myers (28), skipper Sikandar Raza (27), Tony Munyonga (14) and Tashinga Musekiwa (0) foxing them with flight and turn. Three of the four batters were clean bowled, having been beaten by the turn. Motie ended up with figures of 4 for 28 and is currently joint third among the wicket-takers in the World Cup with 10 wickets.
“Motie got a little period before, I was thinking it was the New Zealand series and he went home, worked on some skills. You can see he’s back to where he was before. He even added something to his game as well, that wrist spinner has been very, very crucial for us, especially against the lefties. But yes, sometimes the time away from the game always gives you a nice chance to just refresh and regroup. And as I said, work on any small muddy areas that you may want to focus on. So he’s in a great space,” said skipper Hope on his leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
If Motie and Hosein did the damage with the ball, Shimron Hetmyer delivered with the bat. Batting at No. 3, Hetmyer – an IPL veteran accustomed to Indian conditions – demolished the Zimbabwe bowlers with an explosive 34-ball 85, including seven fours and as many sixes. Apart from a couple of occasions when he was dropped, Hetmyer looked unstoppable and was rightly declared Player of the Match.
The fitter, leaner and meaner Hetmyer could be a potential threat for India on March 1 in Kolkata, just as much as the left-arm spin twins – Motie and Hosein – besides, of course, Chase the off-spinner. (cricbuzz)
