da supremo： So the Indians finally got their act together and how
da betobet： Partab Ramchand27-Aug-2002So the Indians finally got their act together and how! As thecliché goes, the only thing predictable about the Indian team istheir unpredictability. Down in the dumps one match, they areable to lift their game to unbelievable heights the next, only tofail utterly again when hopes are justifiably high. If anything,the tour of England alone has symbolised the yo-yo displaygenerally put up by the Indians.After a glorious performance in the NatWest one-day series,culminating in a now famous triumph over England in the final,they went down quite unexpectedly in the first Test at Lord’s.They received more than their share of brickbats, with both thehighly-rated batting and the innocuous bowling coming in forcriticism. And just when things looked bleak and the team wasrated as no hopers when it came to even leveling the series, theycame up with a showing that could not fail to win the hearts ofeven the most hard-bitten cynic.It was not just the margin of victory – the biggest registered byany Indian team abroad – that was satisfying. It was not just therarity of the event – it was only the fourth victory overall in44 Test matches in England – that earned the visitors plauditsaplenty. Rarely has an Indian team gelled together in alldepartments with the consistency that they displayed atHeadingley. Rarely too has an Indian team in 70 years dominated amatch from first to last in such telling fashion.Of the 13 sessions in the match, they dominated every session butone and that’s not something that can be said with any regularityabout an Indian team. And the fact that they did so abroad wasthe icing on the cake.The bowling had always been the problem. On the evidence of thefirst two Tests, it did lack the firepower to bowl out Englandtwice. But as I mentioned in my preview, with a big total in thekitty, even a toothless attack can suddenly develop fangs. I hadalso said that if India batted first and ran up a huge total,they could put England under pressure.
© ReutersThis was exactly what happened. There was never any doubt aboutthe strength of the Indian batting. It had only to bloom fullyand at Headingley, the long awaited event finally took place. Thebig three of the Indian batting finally came good together. Andwhen that happened the sun was bound to shine on Indian cricket -even in generally cloudy Leeds.The approach of the batsmen was commendable. As long asconditions favoured the seam bowlers, as they did for much of thefirst day, Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid held on courageously.Their second wicket partnership helped set up things for thepyrotechnics of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly on thefollowing day.The big three put the ordinary England bowling in its place.Let’s face it. The home team’s bowling is as innocuous as theIndians. It was some rank bad batting and faulty planning by thevisitors that helped improve their averages in the first twoTests.A total of 600-plus is always a handy one. It gives the sideadded confidence and puts intense pressure on the opponents.Ganguly’s aggressive tactics tied the England batsmen in knotsand by the end of the third day, India were well on the road tovictory. England’s fightback thereafter was bound to be futilegiven the fact that both time and runs were against them, thanksto the big Indian lead and the nifty rate of scoring by Tendulkarand Ganguly on the second day.I had mentioned in my preview that the time had come for theIndians to go in with two spinners, pointing out that in Englandin late August there was a strong case to opt for a spin-orientedattack, even at Headingley where conditions are known to favourseamers. Despite the gallant work done by seam bowlers of late -they have even won matches for India abroad – one should neverput India’s traditional strength on the back burner.
© CricInfoWith two seamers and two spinners playing the Test, the Indianattack certainly wore a more balanced look. For all the admirableefforts of Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar, it must be said thatAnil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh caused the Englishmen mostproblems. Almost every batsman found it more difficult to dealwith the spinning ball than the seaming ball and one can alreadysee the spin duo rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect ofbowling in tandem at the Oval where they should find theconditions more amiable.Now that everything has clicked and the Indian team is lookinggood, what can we expect in the final Test commencing next week,with both teams having everything to play for? Given the up anddown manner in which events have unfolded during the series, itwould take a bold prophet to make a prediction. The Oval was thescene of one of Indian cricket’s finest hours in 1971. Andconditions favour spin more at Surrey’s home ground than anywhereelse in England. Against that is the Indian record of not havingwon a series outside the sub continent since 1986.There is also this irritating habit of losing a Test immediatelyafter winning one. It has happened on the last three occasions inZimbabwe, Sri Lanka and West Indies – so very much in keepingwith the Indians’ inconsistency. I don’t think I would want tostick my neck out and predict what’s going to happen at the Oval.In the meantime, let us savour a notable victory, which I am surewould be in anyone’s list of half a dozen greatest triumphs inIndian cricket and will always remain the perfect tribute to aconcerted team effort.
