The day before England landed in India, Steve Waugh and Stephen Fleming set up a Test match at the Gabba that threatened to make one-day cricket redundant. In a flurry of declarations and sparkling batting, the match boiled down to a simple equation. Runs required: 284. Overs left: 57. New Zealand ended 10 runs short in what was a resounding victory for cricket. Rain-affected games bring with them a distinctive sort of desperation, but the vitality of both teams couldn't have been more refreshing.

It wasn't surprising that India opted for the draw today. They have attacking batsmen, but as a team, they don't think offence. It was perfectly fair for them to look at a draw as their first target, to ensure that they go to Bangalore one-up. By lunch, Deep Dasgupta and Shiv Sunder Das had done just the job for them. They were assured and disciplined and took India to the safety of 92 for 0.

In the lunch interval, a decision should have been made to look for about four an over and then reassess, taking into account the number of wickets they had left. It wasn't impossible: after all, 49 had come in the hour before lunch without any risks. A target of 282 in 59 overs? That's game on - just ask Chris Cairns. There was a match to be made but India dressed it up in drag. A mere 48 runs in the second session was far too soggy.

Their approach almost played into Nasser Hussain's hands because it allowed him to have men around the bat the entire time. At one point, in the comatose hour after lunch, he had Ashley Giles bowling round the wicket to four men shrouded around the bat, all on the off.

The crowd booed Nos. 1, 2 and 3 and demanded for Sachin Tendulkar to light things up. But the equation held no threat for Hussain, and he even had four men around Tendulkar who was eventually caught at bat-pad off Richard Dawson. Would you have expected that when England named their 16? Ultimately, the day ended brightly for Sourav Ganguly when he hit Andy Flintoff for confident, consecutive boundaries, rather than edging him to slip, in what was the last over of the day.

And the crowd wound their way back to life outside cricket and Sachin. No person who came to the stadium today should feel shattered by what happened. It was normal, even expected. But they cannot be grudged for having hoped for more. Maybe Bangalore will get luckier.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India.

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