A meek Indian surrender

Considering the early thrust provided by Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, India should have, at least, provided a scare to South Africa. Instead, the side surrendered meekly.

The Indian collapse was inexplicable, and visible was a complete absence of planning and orientation. Following the departure of Tendulkar, the Indians could have stayed in the hunt by rotating the strike and picking their ones and twos well.

However, there was a slump in the run-rate, and gradually the side lost its way. The point is we are unable to consolidate on starts, with the lack of depth in batting being a huge stumbling block.

The Indians seem to have forgotten that this is a team game. For long, we have been dependent on the individual brilliance of a couple of cricketers for taking us to victories, rather than a collective effort.

The fact that India was bowled out when plenty of balls still remained in the contest doesn't present the side in very good light. Obviously common sense appears to be in short supply.

The Indians still haven't learnt the art of building partnerships. And the side comes apart like a pack of cards in a crunch situation, it panics.

In stark contrast was the South African innings where the emphasis was on partnerships with the acceleration coming at the right time. Which is how an innings should be paced.

But then, South Africa possesses quality all-rounders and India doesn't have any. And unless India discovers performing all- rounders, it will continue to falter.

There was more than a hint of desperation in the methods of the Indians which is again not a good sign. The point is there are lessons to be learnt even from defeats and we never seem to do that. The same mistakes are on view time and again.

Earlier in the game, the lack of depth in the Indian bowling surfaced once again. The pacemen operated poorly, and it was only Harbhajan Singh who pegged back the Proteas with well- directed off-spin, but the faster bowlers let the side down again in the end overs.

With the pacemen coming under the hammer and leggie Anil Kumble having an off-day, it was baffling why Ganguly did not introduce Tendulkar into the attack.

Tendulkar is blessed with what we call the `wicket- taking luck' and has bowled very useful for India in the past. It was an option that should have been taken and had India restricted South Africa between 250 and 260, it might have stood a better chance.

The standard of fielding and wicket-keeping left much to be desired too. We keep hearing about the team-management putting emphasis on fielding, but see no evidence of this on the field of play, where too many easy runs are often given away.

Sadly, the Indian team, after a fine beginning in the Summer Spice triangular series, is back to square one. And the truth is the replacements for some key players are just not good enough.

The fact that V. V. S. Laxman, who pulled out of the side on fitness grounds, is being rushed to South Africa for the last two league games of the competition is an indicator of the team's desperation. And the team-management has also requested for left- arm paceman Zaheer Khan, another cricketer, who opted out due to an injury.

All this doesn't present the state of Indian cricket in very good light.

K.SRIKKANTH

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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