Sport - Cricket

India has not at all improved

It was an extremely disappointing performance by the Indians in New Delhi. The side ultimately won the Test, but the manner in which it did so was hardly convincing.

India, in pursuit of 120 odd runs, almost lost the match. It was astonishing! Whatever be the nature of the pitch, there can be no excuse for this pathetic display.

Had Sachin Tendulkar departed early on the final day, the series would most likely have been levelled. Congratulations to the Zimbabweans for putting up a stirring fight, but the Indians' tame batting also helped them.

The point is, if India struggles at home, against teams in the bottom rung like Zimbabwe, then not much can be expected of it abroad. The Delhi Test was played in conditions tailor-made for the Indians.

On a crumbling pitch that suited the spinners to the hilt - remember our batsmen too are used to playing on these tracks - the Indians should have cantered home. Instead, the Zimbabweans almost carried the day with the home batsmen struggling against an ordinary attack, in which the second spinner was a part-time bowler.

All this goes to show that the Indians have hardly improved over the last few years. On the contrary, the quality appears to have declined. No wonder, India is not rated highly by the other nations and this is reflected in the rankings too.

At the end of the day, the small first innings lead probably saved India. But then, the Indians should never have allowed things to reach that point in very familiar conditions.

One shudders to think what a better equipped side, with a couple of quality bowlers, would have done to India. Come to think of it, England might have well won the Bangalore Test had rain not intervened.

The Indian spinners ran through the Zimbabwe line-up in the second innings, exploiting the cracks on the surface. They are not the same force on pitches with true bounce.

The only silver lining for the Indians was the performance of the youngsters. Given an opportunity, Sanjay Bangar grabbed it with a fine hundred in Nagpur. Virender Sehwag, who came in for V.V.S. Laxman in New Delhi, produced a strokeful half-century. And Zaheer Khan, on a comeback trail, was impressive right through the series.

K.Srikkanth

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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