Possible combinations if India play five bowlers

Below is the link posted on January 6 when this blog had suggested Sehwag, Pathan and Karthik in the team, while hoping that five bowlers would play at Perth.

http://atulsondhi.blogspot.com/2008/01/team-for-perth-shoudl-have-sehwag.html

Since India opted for a four-bowler attack and decided not to replace Jaffer, Harbhajan and Yuvraj paved the way for Sehwag and Irfan.

Now there are two possible combinations before Adelaide, and again, five bowlers including Harbhajan are recommended. India must be prepared to compromise a little on batting to ensure that Australia are unable to bat themselves out of trouble.

However, if India play with five bowlers and retain Dhoni, one fears that either Dhoni or Dravid will have to open again

V Sehwag (Opener)
Dhoni/Dravid (Opener)
V Laxman
S Tendulkar
S Ganguly
Dhoni/Dravid
Irfan Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Kumble
RP Singh
Ishant Sharma

But if India want conventional openers and opt for five bowlers, the combination should have

V Sehwag (Opener)
Dinesh Karthik or Jaffer (Opener)
V Laxman
S Tendulkar
S Ganguly
R Dravid
Irfan Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Anil Kumble
RP Singh
Ishant Sharma

Now it will be difficult to omit Dhoni after such a splendid show with the bat at Perth, but India might need two spinners at Adelaide. Even at Perth, one can imagine the scary scenario without Sehwag getting his spinning deliveries to work, and getting the scalps of Gilchrist and Lee.

However, if India play with just four bowlers, the choice left will only be whether to retain Jaffer or bring in Dinesh Karthik.

Despite repeated failures, the only thing that could save Jaffer now is that having played six innings on this tour, he may be having a fair idea of what to expect at Adelaide. Probably, that will help him succeed.