India let down by bowling attack
Partab Ramchand - 23 May 2002
So the search for the elusive away series win continues. As India
prepared to leave for the Caribbean, great hopes were nurtured
that, for the first time since England in 1986, they would return
victorious. The visitors were even installed as favourites by
some experts, the mood was generally upbeat, and both positive
and negative factors seemed to sway things India's way.
And yet, at the end of the five-Test series, the result sheet
reads: West Indies 2, India 1, drawn 2. The silver lining was
provided by that notable victory at Port of Spain, and yes, there
were a few individual feats that did not go unnoticed. But by and
large, the weaknesses of the side were all too apparent, and in
the final analysis, the series must be termed a disappointment.
When the Indians landed in the West Indies, certain inherent
weaknesses were known to everyone, but it was hoped that the
team's main strength the middle-order batting would help plug
the loopholes in the other departments. The main worry was the
bowling, but there was also a question-mark over the top of the
batting order. However, with the West Indies themselves going
through a lean period, it was felt that the strengths and faults
of the two sides would level out and, with some good fortune,
India could win their first series outside the subcontinent in 16
years.
A series between two sides occupying the bottom half of the Test
rankings list was bound to be mediocre. All the same, it had the
makings of a close series, and the keenness of the contest that
saw the final Test decide the series covered up for some rather
ordinary cricket. The limitations of both sides were all too
palpable, but whereas the home side rose above these limitations
and played above their potential, the Indians did not play up to
theirs. Therein lay the chief reason for the defeat.
Underlining this was the West Indian bowling. Before the series
commenced, it was reckoned that the pace quartet, a pale shadow
of their predecessors, would be hard-pressed to bowl out the
formidable Indian batting line-up twice in a Test. Yet, they did
this not once, not twice, but three times in the series, and only
on one occasion out of six did the Indians cross 300.
On the other hand, the brittleness of the West Indian batting did
present the Indian bowlers a great chance to cover themselves
with glory. And yet they could bowl out the West Indians in a
Test only twice, and in one of those four innings, the hosts
scored a little matter of 422. By the end of the series, Messrs
Merv Dillon, Pedro Collins, Cameron Cuffy and Adam Sanford could
justifiably be proud of having done an admirable job.
But then even Messrs Ramnaresh Sarwan, Carl Hooper and Shivnarine
Chanderpaul can pat themselves on the back for rising to the
occasion. There were always doubts over the durability of their
opening pair, and it was taken for granted that much would depend
on these three and Brian Lara. The star left-hander's poor form
put additional pressure on the trio but, thriving on this,
Sarwan, Hooper and Chanderpaul bolstered the team's fortunes time
and again in such a manner that, by the end of the series, the
Indian bowlers must have been quietly thankful for their
deliverance.
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The Indian quartet in the middle-order faced much the same
pressure, in that the openers hardly ever came off. Under the
circumstances, it must be said that their performance was up to
par. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman all got
hundreds, while Sourav Ganguly was happily among the runs again.
A bit of a bonus came their way with Ajay Ratra's timely century
at Antigua and the form shown by Wasim Jaffer. But again,
consistency was not their strong point, as proved by the debacles
at Bridgetown and Kingston, Tendulkar's failing by his own high
standards, and Shiv Sunder Das' inability to get going.
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However, I would not like to be too hard on the batting. If
anything, harsher criticism should be leveled at the bowling.
Sure, there were limitations, but then again, they too were up
against a supposedly feeble West Indian batting line-up. Lara's
lack of form presented the Indian bowlers with a golden chance of
coming good. Yet, over and over again, they bowled seemingly
without a set plan to dismiss a batsman. And when they were
confronted with Hooper and Chanderpaul, it looked like they were
just going through the motions of completing the over.
The defining moment in the lack of ideas probably came in the
pre-lunch session of the Kingston Test. To me, that was the
period when the game and the series - was won and lost. On a
pitch that was heaven-sent for them, Ganguly's decision to field
a defensive tactic gave the Indian bowlers the opportunity to
run through the West Indian batting. But they made a mess of
things, got carried away by the pace and bounce of the wicket,
sprayed the ball all over the place, and thereafter it was uphill
for India all the way.
It is fashionable to blame the batsmen for the failure of the
team, but a look at the Test averages provides clinching evidence
that the bowlers were probably more to blame, symbolised by the
fact that the five main bowlers between themselves had just one
five-wicket haul. I am not sure whether persisting with the
policy of three seamers and only one spinner throughout the
series following the victory at Port of Spain was that sound a
strategy.
It must have been galling for Ganguly to lose a series he must
have looked forward to winning, especially after the triumph in
the second Test. His captaincy had high points and low points,
but his passion and his tough, no-nonsense approach, which have
been hallmarks of his captaincy over these last two years, is
still very much prevalent. All he requires is a little brushing-
up on matters of tactics and planning. In any event, there is
little doubt that he remains the best man for the job. But the
Indians will continue to win at home and lose abroad. This
unfortunately is the prime lesson driven home by the just-
concluded Test series.
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