Cracks in the Wall

Analyzing India's home series win over the Kiwis

In the end it was a rather facile 2-0 victory for India against a side that have really hit rock bottom in international cricket. Anything other than this result would have been a shock to the Indian system, desperately seeking to regroup after 2 high profile retirements and the horror show in Australia and England.

However to any discerning observer, there are noticeable cracks in the system, which if anything have accentuated over the long sabbatical from the long format. At the face of it, the 2 youngsters in the middle order , Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara were the best Indian batsmen. There are still visible flaws in their technique. Kohli at times plays carelessly around his pads, which might make him a leg before candidate on more helpful pitches and against faster seamers. Pujara has yet to be truly tested against the short and moving wall. However the initial signs are encouraging that though the departure of Dravid and Laxman will still be missed, the Indian middle order might not leave as big a void in the middle as the current Australian lineup shows (especially once Hussey hangs up his boots). For me, Sachin has too often been doubted (by all including me) and proven doubters wrong, to get thinking about three consecutive bowled out dismissals. If anyone can and has sorted out technical issues repeatedly, it is him and I do not doubt that he will overcome this as well. True Dravid started getting bowled repeatedly in the Australia series but I don’t think the Sachin issue is the same. The real challenge for Sachin is to decide when he wants to quit and inform the team well in advance so that the shock may be slowly absorbed. Can you imagine an Indian Test Batting lineup without him, however his recent form might be. Opposition captains from the toss would have a smile on their faces.

The real issue with the Indian batsman is the opening slot. Gambhir is in a totally wrong test mindset. I’ve actually lost track of the number of times he’s played that silly dab into the hands of the keeper or slip over the past year. Not perhaps time for him to be dropped yet, but the Delhi man will be looking over his shoulder with every failed inning. Sehwag has struggled too and though he might come out and score a hundred in a session in any game, I think it would be more prudent to move him down the order and give the prolific Ajinkya Rahane his shot at the top. Rahane has been the most consistent domestic batsman and deserves his chance. Sehwag should take Suresh Raina’s spot in the middle order as the southpaw has frankly never looked like he could make the grade in test cricket.

Sehwag : Time to shift down the order ??

Equally interesting is the slot of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His impressive counterattacking scores on home pitches can never completely overshadow the fact that his has an abysmal overseas record. Thinking about Dhoni’s spot in the team is likely to generate as much controversy as debating Sachin’s spot, but I feel in the long run, India should look for a different test keeper (especially in overseas conditions).

For a side that restricted its opponents to under 300 in 3 of the 4 innings it bowled, India’s bowling has papered over the cracks in its surfaces. There were glimpses in the 2^nd test even when small partnerships were on that both spinners went on the defence quicker than would be expected. England and Australia will post sterner tests for them and while neither team has the batting mettle that really boasts it can handle spin, the performances of the spinners is likely to be more indicative of what they might produce in overseas conditions – the real test of character for an Indian spinner. The fast bowlers were hardly called upon and hence their performance or form cannot aptly be judged, though Umesh Yadav’s 2^nd test spell was exciting. This boy really is an interesting prospect.

So on the whole, a comfortable series win but for discerning minds , there are cracks to see. The powers that be would do well to take note and sort them out or India’s 8-0 away record is likely to reach double digit figures.