Verdict: India were bad, very bad

And, at the end of the debacle, Dravid and Chappell are left with one question: How did a team looking good enough to challenge Australia’s one-day crown find itself humiliated thus?

PORT OF SPAIN: There were various reasons proffered for India’s 1-4 debacle in the one day series against the West Indies after Sunday’s defeat, all laced with interesting and cogent cricket logic, but none more pertinent than former wicket-keeper Deryck Murray’s succinct, non-specific appraisal.

Brian Lara, magnanimous in victory, thought fatigue may have been a factor, and the absence of Sachin Tendulkar certainly was. “If you have the best batsman in the world with you, and he is not playing, it does make a difference, even if he isn’t in form,” said the West Indies captain.

Rahul Dravid concurred, saying Tendulkar’s experience would have been invaluable, and as a bowler, he would have lent the team the balance it kept seeking. But the Indian captain thought that the clear difference between the two teams was in the fielding. “That’s one area in which we were completely outplayed.”

Coach Greg Chappell was in sync with both captains, but also thought his batsmen failed to adapt to the slow pitches. “However, this was a great learning experience for the younger members of the side when you consider the World Cup is due here.”

Murray, agreed with Lara, Dravid and Chappell, only to disagree. “All things considered, this was a poor performance by a team which has so much talent, and came here with such a fine reputation.” Murray was guilty only of understatement. In fact, India were bad, very bad.

Chroniclers will identify this as the team’s worst performance in one-day cricket since losing four matches in a row to Pakistan in April 2005. That was under the ‘no-gooder’ old regime, remember. Since then, there has been a change of guard at the top, a new coach with a formidable reputation has been hired, a new philosophy and new methods have been put in place, and for eight months before this tour, everything seemed to be hunky dory. So what went wrong?

The litany of factors is longish:

a) Fatigue certainly, insufficient time to acclimatise adding to the rigours of a very long season.

b) The emphasis on youth was overplayed in these conditions, the team lacked experience, so the selection was flawed, and overly optimistic. For the World Cup, the bonafides of Laxman, Kumble and — one dare say even Ganguly — must be revisited.

c) In the circumstances, Dravid’s decision to open after the second game did not make much sense. With the bottom falling out of the batting every time, a seasoned hand was needed from the middle till the end overs.

d) The all-rounders, Dhoni and Pathan, flopped badly, which made the five-bowler strategy unworkable, but it did not get corrected till it was too late.

e) Considering the number of youngsters in the team, the fielding was diabolical. India dropped more catches, and gave away runs through misfields and overthrows. In low-scoring contests, even 5-10 runs are a lot; 15-20 are a recipe for disaster.

f) There were too many run outs, compared to the opposition, which meant wickets given away needlessly.

g)  After the second game, the players appeared to lose their nerve under pressure, and their performances went helter-skelter.

In a sense, Chappell’s off-the-cuff remark after the first match about the West Indies having “forgotten how to win” came to haunt him in every match after that. The same team, which had shown so much chutzpah and skill in beating Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England in successive series, now looked  bewildered and broken in spirit, losing matches that should have been won in a cakewalk..

For the last eight months, India’s performances had suggested that they were ready to pip Australia for the title of best one-day team in the world. With eight months to go for the World Cup, it now seems it’s back to square one.

For Dravid and Chappell, the road ahead is arduous.

Scorecard

West Indies
C Gayle b Sehwag 51, S Chattergoon b Agarkar 0, R Sarwan b Sreesanth 52, B Lara run out 36, D Bravo not out 62, W Hinds c Sehwag b Agarkar 32, D Smith b Patel 1, D Ramdin not out 1.

Extras: (1B, 3LB, 13w, 3NB) 20.

Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 255

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-90, 3-137, 4-165, 5-243, 6-251

Bowling: Sreesanth 10-0-62-1, Agarkar 10-1-44-2, Patel 10-0-64-1, Harbhajan 10-0-52-0, Sehwag 10-0-29-1

India
R Uthappa c Ramdin b Hinds 0, V Sehwag c Gayle b Taylor 95, M Dhoni b Hinds 14, R Dravid run out (Mohammed) 18, Y Singh b Mohammed 26, M Kaif c Gayle b
Taylor 12, S Raina c Ramdin b Taylor 2, A Agarkar c Smith b Gayle 21, H Singh c sub (Bradshaw) b Mohammed 26, M Patel c Chattergoon b Mohammed 0, S Sreesanth not out 2.

Extras: (4LB, 14W, 2NB) 20.

Total (all out; 48 overs) 236

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-26, 3-73, 4-130, 5-170, 6-180, 7-189, 8-230, 9-231, 10-236.

Bowling: Hinds 5-0-28-2, Taylor 10-0-48-3, Mohammed 9-1-39-3,

Smith 5-0-28-0, Bravo 9-0-45-0, Gayle 10-0-44-1

Result: West Indies won by 19 runs, and the series 4-1