A pathetic performance

India has been blanked 3-0, with the side crumbling to yet another humiliating defeat at Sydney. It is indeed a rare occurence, of a dubious kind, when a Test match finishes inside three days, with one of the teams scoring over 500. Yet, that is exactly what happened in the third Test, with Sachin Tendulkar's men at the receiving end.

It was a pathetic performance, but one which reflected the true potential of the side - the celebrated Indian middle- order surrendered in an abject manner. The fact that the Indians were unable to hold out for even three full sessions against quality bowling does not present the batting in good light.

It goes without saying that Australia, the best team in the world today, has outplayed India in every department. The Indian bowlers, with the exception of Javagal Srinath, were ineffective and just seemed to be going through the motions. Though they managed to make early dents, the Australians were allowed to come roaring back. The Indians' inability to wrest the initiative was glaring.

For example, Australia was 49 for two in Sydney, but ended up making 552 for five. And the fact that Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, accounted for two of those five wickets, does not speak much for the others. Another clear sign of the decline in our bowling.

One could also get the glimpse of the famous Aussie fighting spirit. Justin Langer was struggling, and looked as though he could fall to Srinath anytime, but with his determination and will to fight, he survived, and went on to compile his career best score. How one wishes the Indian batsmen had applied themselves to the task on hand in a similar fashion.

There was an exception in the second innings at Sydney though. Indeed, for the beleaguered India, V.V.S. Laxman's brilliant century came as some consolation, and the stylish Hyderabad batsman looked even more impressive than Tendulkar was in Melbourne. For someone who looked out of sorts for most part of the series, Laxman batted with a refreshingly positive attitude.

It has been mentioned earlier in this column that the best way to counter the Aussie bowlers is by attacking them, especially not leaving the loose deliveries go unpunished. The selectors must now be ruing the fact that while a batsman like Devang Gandhi has been retained, Laxman will be returning home.

The computer rankings that we keep seeing on the tele- screen seem absurd as they just take into account raw data, like the number of runs scored, or the tally of wickets. Factors, such as the quality of the batsmen\bowlers, the type of wickets, playing conditions, and the strength of the opposition, hardly seem to be taken into account.

One finds as many as five Indians in the top 10, but it doesn't count for much, as the performances against a mediocre side like New Zealand, which toured the country earlier in the season, have been taken into account. Tall scores and big hauls against average opponents on the familiar home pitches inflate the players' potential and we do not get an accurate projection of the national side. Instead, a panel of experts should evaluate the players and rank them accordingly.

The time has come for the Think Tank, or for that matter, the entire cricketing fraternity in the country, including yours truly to do some hard thinking. The time has also come to put an end to petty politics. For this, it is vital that we change our approach to the game and stop pointing fingers. India's biggest lesson from the disastrous series is that only a positive attitude can help the side do better overseas. Just oft- repeated excuses about our inability to perform well abroad will not help matters.

K. SRIKKANTH

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Section  : Sport
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