Monday, July 10, 2002 India's big defeat to England yesterday might not be the unmitigated disaster it seemed to be. There could be something to cheer about still: India haven't yet reached a stage where they can be expected to win six or seven in a row and possibly (hopefully) they have timed their slump just right this time. So expect another stutter on Thursday before they scale glorious heights on Saturday.

So much for day-dreaming. But India were entitled to a bad day after four good matches on the trot, and that it happened in an inconsequential rain-reduced match makes it even easier to stomach. However, what India should really be grateful about is that this match helped sharply define the major fault-lines in their one-day team - faults that were in danger of being glossed over in the elation over those early wins.

The Indians bowled 16 more balls than they were obliged to yesterday, and conceded 32 extras. Simple arithmetic tells us that this meant India ended up with an asking rate of 7.18 instead of 6.18. This also meant that they ended up bowling almost three additional overs in a short match. Seven runs came off Ashish Nehra's first over without the ball even touching the bat, and Zaheer Khan bowled either too short or too full. England got off to a flyer without having to work for it.

One of the most heartening aspects of India's performance so far has been their bowling at the death. Zaheer and Ajit Agarkar – India's chosen men for one-day cricket's most dreaded job – have risen to the task admirably, displaying impeccable control over the full-length ball and summoning the kind of nerve we doubted they'd ever possess. But twice against England they have been forced to do a salvaging act, and they have had nobody to blame but themselves: India's opening overs have been as profligate as the end overs have been tight, and both Agarkar and Zaheer have been guilty of producing plenty of boundary opportunities in the first 15 overs.

Zaheer, who lacks Nehra's ability to swing and swerve, has an air of predictability in his opening spell: he either bangs it in short of length in good faith, or goes for broke with the yorker, which he has difficulty in controlling with the new ball. At his pace (around 130kph), he is lamb chops with fries for free. In the four matches he has bowled so far, the 18 overs in his first spell have cost him 109 runs at a rate of just over six. More tellingly, the sequence of runs scored off his first overs is 13, eight, nine and four - and he has yet to take a wicket or bowl a maiden over in his opening spells. His later spells have yielded only 4.72 an over (105 from 22.2) and 10 wickets. You couldn't fault the Indian selectors for not picking Javagal Srinath, now retired from Tests but available for one-dayers, for the NatWest Series, but is Zaheer Khan the right man to open the bowling?

Like the bowling, India's late-innings batting - apart from at The Oval yesterday - has been sensational. The late-order batsmen have retrieved India from potentially losing situations four times now. Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh have been magnificent, and Sachin Tendulkar at No. 4 has done what was expected of him. The worry, however, is that India have needed to be rescued on each occasion. Sourav Ganguly has been surprisingly lacklustre, and though Virender Sehwag has produced two blasts, India have had only one good opening partnership in the series so far, providing enough ammunition for those who are horrified to see Tendulkar bat down the order.

To panic would be premature (Ganguly is among the alltime great one-day openers, and is bound to find his touch soon), but India need to take a serious look at the No. 3 position. Dinesh Mongia, for all his runs against England and Zimbabwe in India, lacks the pedigree and the technique to come at one-down. His chips and charges might be more useful lower down, but when a wicket falls early on, you want assurance and composure. Rahul Dravid is best suited to provide it, but he is ruled out since he also has to keep wicket. VVS Laxman, a class act in Test cricket, has been a marginal choice in the one-day side, because not only do his best scoring shots yield minimum result in a one-day field, but he is also a poor runner between the wickets and an average outfielder. But since India have strokemakers at Nos 1, 2, 4 and 6, it wouldn't hurt to have a man who can score a 70-ball half-century at No. 3. If nothing, Laxman deserves a run without being made to feel he is on trial.

Sambit Bal is editor of Wisden.com India and Wisden Asia Cricket magazine.

More Indian View
Put up or shut up, Scyld
Well done Dalmiya
Down with Sachin
The farce must end

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