Blushes and Blemishes galore
Ananthanarayanan K Subramanian - 12 April 2002
The first day of the first Test match of a key series! Come to
think of it, India have almost always done well on the first day
- even in Tests that they have gone to lose badly. The first Test
against Pakistan in the inaugural Asian Test Championship and the
first Test against Australia in Australia in 1999 come to mind.
One more aspect sticks out in all these Tests - the opening
spells of the Indian bowlers and the team's attacking game-plan
in the first session. But the sorry state of affairs that unfolds
after the first day, or even after the first session, need not be
dwelt upon here, for they are well-known and already much-
analysed.
I have to start with the team selection first, where we have
another familiar story unfolding. Debasis Mohanty, T Kumaran and
the ilk perhaps have another member to join their ranks, but I
seriously hope that Ajay Ratra does not end up like them. Or has
Deep Dasgupta dug his own grave by dropping Hooper in the
morning? With the West Indian captain going on to a century, it
should not be too long before Dasgupta's supporters lay down
their arms. VVS Laxman too did not do the team any good by
denying Sanjay Bangar his maiden Test wicket.
But if there was one reassuring thought that Sourav Ganguly and
Co. would have taken to bed, it would have been the fact that
Lara did not stay long. The Indians must be aware that a big
score from his blade is just around the corner. It just remains
to be seen how much the Indians can snatch before he wakes up.
Hooper seems to be in the midst of a purple patch quite early in
the tour. He was always going to be a thorn in the Indian flesh,
but with his moody elegance, there is always a chance that he
might be bored enough to chuck it away. Alas, today was not to be
that day. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul provided
able support to their skipper to save their team the blushes.
They have brought the fight to such a stage that they can attack
the Indians from here on. In short, a perfect day's outing for
them.
On the other hand, the Indian bowlers (and its wicket-keeper)
have to raise their game and bowl out the West Indies before they
make too much. Javagal Srinath was easily the pick of the Indian
bowlers, but support from the others (except probably Bangar) was
not forthcoming. Anil Kumble plugged away at one end as he has
done for the most part of his career. Zaheer Khan was not the
bowler we saw in Kenya, though he seemed to improve as the day
wore on. Sarandeep Singh got his wicket too, but can he provide
the same breakthroughs that Harbhajan Singh seems to provide
effortlessly?
The West Indian team has made an almost-perfect start to the
series. For that matter, so did the Pakistani and the Australian
teams in 1998 and 1999, and they actually held the upper hand for
most of the series (except for Kumble's perfect 10 and Laxman's
167). The Indians should strive to change this trend. They
actually can, with some more discipline - and some more catching
practice, as Srinath would agree!
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