A tale of two captains

By Vijay Lokapally

HARARE, JULY 8. It turned out to be the same old story. When it came to the crunch situation, the Indians came a cropper - losing the final of the triangular series to a highly motivated West Indian team on Saturday.

It was a story of two captains. One who believes in leading by instinct and the other an experienced customer saddled with the responsibility of carrying the team through.

For some of the youngsters, it was tough meeting the demands of Sourav Ganguly on the field. His livid face and angry gestures only put the rest under pressure. In contrast stood Carl Hooper. Not once did the West Indian lose his cool and indulge in tantrums on the field. He had a pat on the back for the bowler who was clobbered.

Hooper knew his task well. ``It's a learning experience for me and I've to have a similar attitude when thinking about the players. It's a learning experience for most of them too. It's a young side,'' he said, reflecting a splendid attitude which puts him in the category of leaders.

Making bowling and fielding changes in the field is an easier job than motivating a disjointed and dejected set of players. To get the best out of them can be an achievement and that is precisely what Hooper credited himself with.

``We won the final but we've a long, long way to go. We were fortunate to have got Sachin early and then the way Ganga batted was superb. I've never seen him bat like that. He really set the tone for the rest of the batters,'' said Hooper.

His humility did not allow him to speak about his own valuable innings in the middle-order, an innings which actually took the match away from the Indians.

The Indian team management refused to accept they were outclassed. ``It was just one bad day,'' asserted Ganguly. It was one bad hour on the fourth morning of the second Test at Harare and it was now this one bad day. And what a day the Indians chose to play poor cricket.

Ganguly and coach John Wright failed to come up with convincing answers. ``We didn't execute our plans with the ball. It's difficult to win when your best bowlers go for sixes. We weren't efficient and accurate with the ball,'' stressed Wright.

How come neither found fault with the batsmen?. Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman failed collectively and this was a reason in the West Indians polishing off the Indians. It was another matter that Sameer Dighe and Reetinder Singh Sodhi chose the stage to show their batting potential after the stars had failed.

``It was a bit of shame that we were reduced to 80 for five,'' said Ganguly and reluctantly admitted that the batting had been patchy. In his opinion, those who were patchy with the bat were Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman.

He was gracious enough to include himself in the list but it was jarring to find Tendulkar in the list of patchy batsmen. Wright pointed out ``Sachin never throws his wicket away and we can't continue to rely on Sachin alone. It has to be a collective effort. Sachin is his own hardest critic and he was immensely disappointed. But we just can't be relying on Sachin alone.''

The team failed to win the Test series and suffered humiliation in the final of the triangular series. But Wright painted a rosy picture. ``I think we played some very good cricket all through. We didn't get a good start in the final. The Test defeat was disappointing. But we've had some gains from this tour. You would've seen the development of some younger players on this tour. At the end of the day, we've to be professional and clinical in our approach and I don't think we set the tone at some crucial points,'' observed Wright.

Strangely, Ganguly did not agree that the Indian fielding was sloppy. Too many easy runs were conceded, a fact acknowledged even by Sunil Gavaskar in the commentator's box. ``I can't remember any misfielding,'' the Indian skipper dismissed the suggestion with this shocking observation.

On losing matches which mattered, like four finals of the last five that the team had figured in, the Indian skipper admitted ``it could be a mental thing. We've the ability but then we've to translate that ability into a winning combination.''

Ganguly would not mind a psychologist to motivate the side in pressure situations. But he would not call for the appointment of one. ``Yes and no,'' was how he reacted to the suggestion. ``Yes, provided we have a good one but I think it's more to do with individuals.''

One thought the Indians had peaked early but Wright disagreed. ``I don't think so. It was going to be demanding once the target was close to 300. It was important for us to win and execute the basics right. Let's not be harsh on the players. They're young and have shown the promise to improve,'' said Wright.

The Indians left for home this morning, having learnt a few lessons at the hands of the West Indies. There was also a message from Hooper to Ganguly. Throwing tantrums on the field will not evoke better show from the fellow-players. For the team to fare well, the example has to be set by the leader. Ganguly, unfortunately, has some way to go before he becomes one.

``There's no place for losers,'' was Ganguly's parting comment. He would do well to remember that before embarking on the tour to Sri Lanka next week.

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