Port of Spain may be Lara’s hometown, but with 40% population tracing its origins to India, Trinidad's traditionally supported Indian teams.
After all, Port of Spain is the venue where they’ve had maximum success
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD: Skipper Rahul Dravid has thrown the gauntlet at his side to win the one-day series and salvage their pride. The two teams flew to Port of Spain for the final leg of the 5-match contest in which India surprisingly find themselves on the backfoot, trailing 1-2 after Tuesday’s defeat at St. Kitts, when everybody had predicted a whitewash of the West Indies.
“It’s disappointing to be in this situation,” said Dravid, “but hopefully the players will have taken some lessons from the previous two games. We had our backs to the wall even in Pakistan, but we turned it around then. The players should take inspiration from that.”
A 60-minute delay at St. Kitts airport around dawn, and economy class travel to Trinidad were not the only reasons why the Indian players looked weary, restless and grumpy. On the slow tracks here, playing in extreme humidity and under pressure, a team which looked brilliant over the past six months now suddenly looks mediocre.
Dravid, coach Chappell and manager-selector Ranjib Biswal spent much of the waiting time at St. Kitts airport confabulating, with the focus perhaps being the Test team that had been announced back home earlier. It could not have been the most pleasant of times for players who have to go back, especially Ajit Agarkar, who has been India’s best bowler on this tour yet.
The return of Yuvraj Singh, who is showing rapid improvement from the back spasm that kept him out of Tuesday’s game, should bolster the faltering Indian batting. Yet, India’s bigger sustenance could come from ethnic and historical sources.
Port of Spain may be Brian Lara’s hometown, but with a 40 per cent population tracing its origins to India, Trinidad has traditionally supported Indian teams. More than anything else, this has perhaps influenced India’s superb record at the Queen’s Park Oval — where Test matches were won in 1971, 1976 and 2002. Dravid and his team have a lot to live up to.
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