Time for radical changes

It was the same old story as the Indians came up with yet another spineless display against Pakistan at Perth. India, which was found wanting in every department of the game, is now out of the Carlton and United Tri-Series, with hopes of qualification, however slim they might have been, evaporating with this defeat.

The team's last match, against Australia on Sunday, will not be of any consequence and it's a pity that the side has not even been able to put up a good fight. One only hopes India has learnt a lot of lessons from this tour; corrective action needs to be taken to at least try and set things right.

The bowling was once again exposed. It was hard to understand why Ajit Agarkar was allowed to bowl eight overs, after he had produced such a poor first spell. Instead, Tendulkar himself could have sent down four to five overs as he had rather successfully done in the matches earlier.

Sourav Ganguly was the one to excel, bowling in a tidy manner and also picking up three wickets. It has been repeatedly written in this column that apart from Tendulkar, Ganguly, Srinath and possibly Dravid, we lack players of international calibre. This has been proved once again.

After allowing Pakistan to score 260 odd, it was always going to be difficult for India against a pace attack comprising Wasim, Akhtar and Waqar on the bouncy WACA wicket. There was a lot of juice in the pitch for the quicks, and once Tendulkar and Ganguly were dismissed, the contest was effectively over.

Tendulkar fought it out on the Perth strip, showing his ability to handle the quick stuff, but was distinctly unlucky in being adjudged caught behind.

And after his and Ganguly's departure, the Indian batsmen just went through the motions. One must say they did not seem too convincing, for at no point of time did India look like coming back into the game.

It must be said that the `old warriors' Waqar and Wasim bowled splendidly in their initial spells and they removed the cream of Indian batting, before one could say `Shoaib Akhtar.' After the departure of the dangerous opening pair, the Pakistanis knew India's task was impossible and seemed quite relaxed (they were smiling to themselves after every over). This was in sharp contrast to their attitude and approach in the previous match, where they were on the receiving end.

Frankly, the manner in which our fast bowlers, especially Agarkar, operated on the quickest track in the world, was quite disappointing. If this is the true state of India's bowling, then I wonder what we have achieved on this tour. Agreed, winning and losing are part of the game, but lessons can be learnt even in defeats.

Indeed, it is quite sad to see the Indian team in such a pathetic state. Only radical changes can bring about a dramatic transformation in this side and the authorities concerned have to act immediately and effectively. Such debacles should not occur again.

K. SRIKKANTH

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