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India showed grit and determination to register one of their rare series wins on English soil.
Though the result would have been different if the rain gods had not intervened in the first Test, India did enough in the drawn third Test to stamp their domination.
England were feeling on top of the world after a 3-0 series romp against the West Indies and knew that they had done enough in the first Test to reaffirm their confidence.
However, a determined bowling effort by India had England dismissed for a paltry 198 in the first innings of the second Test. The Indian bowlers began to find the control which was sorely lacking in the first Test.
Led by the admirable Zaheer Khan, the Indian bowlers finally began to mount pressure on the England batsmen. The angle created by the left-handed Zaheer and R P Singh gave the England batsmen something new to think about. Zaheer’s bowling performance in the second Test was responsible for the turnaround in India’s fortunes. He was deservedly named the man of the series.
India’s openers Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik put on a century partnership which laid the foundation for India’s middle-order to thrive. Though Sachin Tendulkar ground out 91 runs in a slow, ponderous way, he did put India in the driver’s seat.
His innings let the free-flowing Saurav Ganguly and V V S Laxman to pile-up the runs. Though England fought back in the second innings skipper Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood, India had done enough to clinch the Test.
The Indian batsmen continued their rich vein of form in the third Test to score 662. This included a maiden century from bowler Anil Kumble. Though India had England on the ropes, they did not enforce the follow-on and this let England escape with the draw.
This defensive move has evoked a lot of criticism and though India may point to a series victory to justify the action, in the end it has taken some joy out of India’s finest hour.
If India have to become world-beaters consistently, then they must learn to drive in the advantage. Reasons like the bowlers were tired or that the fifth day wicket may change complexion is utter nonsense.
The bowlers barely manage to scrape through 90 overs in a day these days and are often used judiciously by their captains. The fact remains that India just saw the big picture but failed to take advantage of the finer points. This is one reason why Australia continue to dominate world cricket. They do not believe in half measures and they capitalise fully on their advantage.
Karthik is now fitting well in his new role as opener. He has learned to use his strokes judiciously and the result has been consistency. Jaffer had a fairly good tour but he is often lazy at the start of his innings and this has proved to be his downfall.
The new look Tendulkar may be a nightmare for his ardent fans, but there is no denying that the master batsmen did his job on the tour. If that is the way that Tendulkar has chosen to play, then so be it as far as the runs come.
One of India’s biggest successes on the tour has been the former skipper Ganguly. The left-hander epitomised India’s determination to do well. He played many a crucial innings in company with Tendulkar to shape India’s innings.
The biggest disappointment for India was the erratic performance of S Sreesanth. The Indian paceman was more prone to theatricals than bowling. His antic against Vaughan was just not cricket. Sreesanth can carry on with dramatics but he must match it with performance as South Africa’s Andre Nel does. He has already paid the price by being dropped form the one-day squad.
England will have a lot of soul searching to do before they get back to Test cricket this winter. They have to learn to control themselves at critical junctures during a match.
The wicketkeeping debate will once again start after Matt Prior’s poor showing in the series. But with a tail starting at number eight, England will need a keeper who can bat.
One major bonus for England was the replacement bowlers did a great job. James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Ryan Sidebottom bowled their hearts out and their performances mean that England’s bowling future looks healthy. England will be spoilt for choice once Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard recover from injuries.
By Babu Kalyanpur
babu.kallianpur@tradearabia.net
