India v West Indies, 5th ODI, Baroda
Monday, November 18, 2002

For the first time in this series, the pitch gave a realistic chance to the team batting first. It had a rough look and appeared helpful to the spinners. For a while, it seemed Carl Hooper had made the wrong decision in following the trend of this series, and asking the opposition to bat first.

But the Indian bowlers, particularly Harbhajan Singh, crumbled under the pressure of great expectations of having to deliver on such a track. The seamers were always expected to go for runs. Murali Kartik has bowled well in this series and that's a good sign, but India needed two spinners to succeed in this match, which didn't happen. That, in the end, was the big difference.

Another match in this series was curtailed, this time due to a delayed start. Mike Procter, the match referee, tends to overreact in these situations. This is the second time he has delayed starting a match. From the extent of early morning dew that we saw on the ground, it didn't warrant a delay. The problem is that Procter tends to make these decisions too early in the morning – around 8.15am, when one knows that an extra half-hour of sun will dry the outfield sufficiently to start the match on time.

The net result was that India benefitted from the delayed start. It nullified the half-hour advantage that the West Indian seam bowlers might have otherwise had at the IPCL ground which usually helps new-ball bowlers early in the morning.

It was a good batting performance from India. But my worry is that India's two brightest hopes – Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif – have had little opportunity with the bat. They need to be given more time in the middle, particularly given the role they will have to play in the World Cup.

For West Indies, Chris Gayle outshone Wavell Hinds, the Man of the Match. He was stroking the ball very well and played the offspinners with a lot of maturity at a very critical period in the match, when a wicket or two could have swung the balance. He didn't try to hit his way out of trouble. He and West Indies were rewarded for such patience.

I have never seen such a series where a team batting second always chases very tall targets, and with plenty of balls to spare, particularly in the last match when India passed a 325-run target with 14 balls remaining. It's not even going down to the last over. It's quite extraordinary.

Good batting, unskillful bowling and good pitches were the three contributing factors for the domination by the batting side. A good swing bowler in either side would also have made a substantial difference.

If I were the captain of the side defending a target in such a series, the only thing I would do is to concentrate on the bowlers. I would dictate terms to the bowlers as to what they have to do. Instead of getting rattled by the onslaught, as they are now, the bowlers need to dig deep and come out with a lot more variety and skill – the slower ball being a good example of what they could try more often. Just the right line and length alone won't help, as even the good balls are being punished. This series is a test of character for bowlers.

Sanjay Manjrekar, the mainstay of India's batting in the late 1980s and early '90s, will be providing the Expert View on every match of this ODI series. He was speaking to Raja M.

More Expert View
Match 1
Match 2
Match 3
Match 4

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