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Combination, as I have said many times in the past, is everything. A team captain first and foremost must get the combination of his team right, so that he has the resources to fall back on if he has to resort to Plan B. A Test match is often played - and won - on a session-by-session basis, and Plan B, along with Plans C, D and E, assume great importance under such circumstances. Inevitably, the performances of the players both individually and as a unit vary from session to session, and possessing the right balance helps the captain to play shrewd hands and get the best out of his players. When India last won a series in England, way back in 1986, three quality seam bowlers and one spinner played decisive hands in the victory. That team also had the perfect balance as far as the batting order was concerned. In contrast, the current Indian side makes compromises in team selection and hence go on to flounder on the opening day of a Test, gifting away advantageous situations to the opposition. After having England at 78 for three at one stage on the first day at Lord's, India eventually ended up chasing an imposing 487 in their first innings. So even though the team was coming off the high of famously winning the final of the NatWest triangular series, India let England off the hook and, now one Test down, find themselves on the defensive. It is particularly telling that Sourav Ganguly's captaincy, which distinguished itself with zing and imagination during the one-day series, lacked that conviction and imagination in the Lord's Test. The second Test match, therefore, assumes crucial importance for India, and the tourists are under pressure to come roaring back into the series. Their opponents have shown what planning can do - most significantly in their organised sorting-out of Sachin Tendulkar - and it is now the turn of the Indians to have a game- plan to tackle specific situations. Ganguly can take quite a few leaves out of Nasser Hussain's book; the English captain was adept at matching field placement to the situation. Tendulkar, for example, was stifled with two slips and a deep point, virtually pushing the little master to commit hara-kiri. But it is the batting that has to dust itself off and come to the party. The Indian batting has a tendency to crumble when needed most in away Test matches, even though on paper it is one of the soundest in contemporary cricket. But paper never stood up to a fast bowler in swinging conditions and whacked him for four, and averages count for little when the slightest pressure betrays the fragility of the line-up. The Indian bats need to play their natural game tempered with responsibility, especially in the first innings. If a batsman like Ajit Agarkar could score a century in the second innings at Lord's, the others surely had the capability to do so in the first essay. Runs by the bucket, of course, rarely win Test matches; wickets do. India's bowling appeared fairly toothless at Lord's, and Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Agarkar - along with Harbhajan Singh, who looks set for his first Test in England - must buck up and deliver at Trent Bridge. Agarkar's ton may be just the tonic he needs to boost his bowling performance, while Nehra and Zaheer merely need to return to the form they showed in the West Indies. The track at Trent Bridge has a tendency to aid seam and not spin, so Harbhajan is a better bet than Anil Kumble to beat the English batsmen through the air with his flight and variations. The fact remains that this Test series remains India's best opportunity to beat England in their own backyard. Their opponents are significantly depleted, what with Darren Gough and Andy Caddick injured and Graham Thorpe taking a temporary sanyaas from all cricket. India have already squandered a wonderful opportunity in the West Indies after being a Test up, and it will now be interesting to see if Ganguly and his boys can show the grit and courage to fight back from being a Test down, just as they did against Australia at home. Even the crowd support in English grounds is starting to resemble that found in India, so all they really need to do now is rediscover their self-belief and application. © CricInfo |
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