Sunday, Oct 13, 2002
Sunday, Oct 13, 2002 |
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Cricket
What a pathetic display it was from the Caribbeans. Absolutely spineless and lacking in character. I have never quite seen a West Indian side surrendering so tamely. The Mumbai Test lasted less than three and a half days and out of this, India batted nearly two days! This will give you some idea about how one-sided the match was. I am delighted about India winning, and taking a lead in the series, however, as a contest between two teams, the first Test was a huge disappointment. It was a match that produced a result, however, considering that one side dominated from ball number one, it was boring and predictable. If the Test was any evidence, the West Indian batsmen, save skipper Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, do not appear technically equipped to take on the Indian spinners in these conditions. And out of sheer desperation, some of them got out to atrocious strokes. What the visitors should try and do is mix caution with aggression. In Mumbai, they were either too aggressive or two cautious, and these tactics are going to take them nowhere. In the past, West Indian greats like Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd, took on far better spinners in India, and they accomplished that with bold strokeplay and good defending. I am not for a moment trying to compare the current West Indian batsmen with the formidable Richards & co., but at least the present bunch can learn something from the approach of their illustrious predecessors. Harbhajan Singh was the standout performer in the Indian attack during the second innings, and he did bowl much better in the second innings. The off-spinner seemed to try too hard for wickets in the first essay and did not quite get into the right rhythm. On Saturday, he found the right arc, flighted the ball well, and got the ball to turn and bounce. He is much the better bowler when he is slower through the air, and Harbhajan did get most aspects right in the West Indian second innings. Importantly, he looked more relaxed. I had already written about Parthiv Patel's batting and I must confess, I was extremely impressed with his `keeping too. There was some uneven bounce in the later stages of the match, and Patel was confident and unperturbed while standing up to Kumble and Harbhajan. He does have good technique. The West Indians have a lot of hard work ahead, if they intend to make the series more interesting. There is much room for improvement in all the departments, not the least in catching, that was abysmal in the first Test. www.kris-srikkanth.com
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