Thursday, May 23, 2002
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Cricket
By Vijay Lokapally
DOWN AND OUT: Sachin Tendulkar, India's last and only hope of forcing a win, is bowled by Pedro Collins on the fourth day of the fifth Test against West Indies at the Sabina Park, Jamaica, on Tuesday.
But then it was not to be a lasting dominance by Tendulkar who failed to carry the side as one would have expected. And Gavaskar, a firm believer in self pride being the galvanising factor for an individual to cross great barriers, was once again left perplexed at how a team with such batting potential repeatedly fails to achieve its dreams when overseas. India's poor record of not winning a Test series outside the sub-continent for 16 years stays. The 155-run defeat at Sabina Park, which gave the West Indies the series by a 2-1 margin, put things in perspective — India has two facets of its cricket. Champion at home but inconsistent overseas. The sooner the cricket fans accept this fact the better because India has lost the art of raising its game and achieving higher standards. Soft victories at home have not helped this bunch of cricketers who have only promised improvement but not quite looked capable. Of course the target here was imposing. To get 408 to win was indeed daunting by any standards but then the Indians lacked the will. There was a distinct absence of planning and it was clear that the batsmen did not possess the mental strength to last in the middle. A few irresponsible strokes only underlined the inability of some batsmen to come to terms with the reality of the situation. It would be improper to find any excuses for the debacle because the Indians were beaten fair and square by a team which placed more faith in collective strength than look up to individual brilliance. India skipper Sourav Ganguly refused to accept that there were irresponsible strokes. "I don't think anyone played bad shots. Let us admit they (West Indies) played better cricket. I think we bowled poorly on the first day. We must learn to perform when it matters and there is no point in excuses in hindsight," said Ganguly. It was not that the West Indian bowlers were menacing. They did keep the ball in the right place and gained from the basic line and length policy. Left-arm Pedro Collins made the crucial strikes when he got rid of the openers and snared Tendulkar for the third time in the series. Adam Sanford, excluded from the one-day series, contributed immensely by working up pace and benefited from the indiscreet attitude of the batsmen. The Indians looked so ordinary in their defeat. Right from the time Wasim Jaffer fell, to the last man succumbing to the West Indians, there was little sense of responsibilityAs long as Tendulkar was in the middle the team lived on borrowed hope. But then Tendulkar proved that he too was fallible when the pressure builds, or else he would have won the game for India. He was, in fact, the best qualified and best equipped to script a dream triumph but he failed. Tendulkar, despite his diligence, was not able to produce a match-winning effort when the nation looked up to him. It would not be fair to blame Tendulkar alone for the debacle, for there were others guilty of committing unpardonable mistakes, with the captain leading the table with his ugly and reckless stroke, but more was expected from the best batsman in the world. Having got the measure of the West Indian attack, Tendulkar ought to have capitalised on the uncertainty that gripped the opposition. When India resumed the battle in the last session of the fourth day, the West Indies' concern was understandable. Tendulkar had looked in complete control in the company of Sourav Ganguly and a tight finish looked a possibility provided these two were willing to fight on. It promised to be an intense, and obviously decisive phase with India banking all its hopes on Tendulkar after Rahul Dravid had fallen to the unsung Adam Sanford. Tendulkar had given the right signals with some imperious strokeplay. Some outstanding square drives and flicks did give the West Indian bowlers a hard time as Tendulkar appeared in a defiant mood. The team watched with anxiety and rose to its feet when he reached his half century. Tendulkar was in a mood to take the fight to a finish and it was this mood that the West Indies had feared. With Tendulkar cracking his shots with a lot of freedom and Ganguly happy to play second fiddle the Indians looked on the right track. Carl Hooper was a worried man no doubt before he fell back on Pedro Collins, who broke through Tendulkar's resolve and turned the course of the match. The blow came in the first over after tea when Collins beat Tendulkar comprehensively as the ball passed between the bat and pad. The Indian hopes lay shattered. Until the time he got out Tendulkar had looked assured and composed as he picked gaps at will and cracked some astounding strokes, timing being his forte. Ganguly, it seemed, had been waiting for Tendulkar to lose his wicket. The haste which the Indian skipper showed and the irresponsible shot that he executed only showed him in poor light. His pull landed straight in the hands of Sarwan and India had lost a wicket to indiscretion more than the merit of the delivery. It was shoddy shot selection, one which would have invited the wrath of the coach John Wright, who has been left frustrated at some of the batsmen not heeding his suggestions at all. Ganguly's shot was certainly not befitting the situation even if it was true that he could not have ducked the ball. There was another shot which pushed India towards a possible defeat on the fourth day itself when Laxman played a pull and only top edged as the ball gained height. It took a superb catch by Dillon, running back, tumbling but hanging on to the ball to get rid of Laxman who had batted sensibly until that stroke. Once again a case of poor shot selection. Worse was to follow when Harbhajan Singh, who only the other day spoke of improving his batting record, drove casually to give Chris Gayle a wicket. This time it was Cameron Cuffy who lunged at mid-on and completed a diving catch. A poor shot which reflected the overall state of India's approach. An exception to the madness in the middle was Ajay Ratra, who was lucky to be dropped by Hooper in the slips. But the wicketkeeper-batsman cut out the frills and concentrated on hanging in. If only his predecessors had adopted a similar policy. On the final day, India surrendered in a matter of 39 minutes. Ratra was trapped by Cuffy and there was no resistance from Srinath and Zaheer, as West Indies won its first series at home after beating Pakistan in 2000. For their brilliant performances, Shivnarine Chanderpaul won the `man of the series' award, which came with a car, and Wavell Hinds was adjudged the `man of the match.' The West Indian team, amidst joyous scenes at the Sabina Park, was driven around in and atop the car by Chanderpaul. The better team had won indeed.
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