At this level, nobody can do much tinkering with what’s natural, but every cricketer can get into a bad habit and that needs to be shown to him.
“If only” is a word that Indian cricket is very familiar with throughout its cricket history. How often have we heard players, commentators, critics and fans use those two words when speaking about Indian cricket.
If only India had got close to the England total of 298 in the first innings, if only the bowlers had bowled better than they did on the first day, if only the umpire had given this player out and that player not out, it could well have been a different story.
The game of cricket is full of ifs and buts, and nowhere are they used as frequently as in India.
Whatever the ifs and buts, India will no doubt thank the weather gods for saving them in the first Test, and as a member of the 1971 Indian team that went on to win the series in England for the first time ever, the similarities are striking.
Then too India were in a position to win the first Test, but in the end were only 38 runs away with two wickets in hand when the rains came down and the match was drawn.
Till this day, Indian followers assert that India could have gone on to win the Test, but with only BS Chandrasekhar to bat, that would have been as tall an order as Dhoni taking India to a win along with Sreesanth here.
India had rain for welcome company in the second Test in 1971 as well, which was going all the way in England’s pocket. In the third and final Test, Chandra’s magical spell tilted the Test India’s way and we won in style.
That Test was at The Oval, and this time too, the last Test is at The Oval, so the portents look good.
India though will do well to introspect on the Test and analyse why their batting failed on this pitch.
Yes, there was a cloud cover for most of the Test, and that helped the ball to swing, but batsmen normally have problems with deliveries that seam off the pitch than when it swings in the air, simply because the movement off the pitch gives little time to make adjustments, while the swing is from the release of the ball by the bowler and so much easier to adjust to.
The Indian batsmen, who got out were set up beautifully by the bowlers, and that tells of good thinking and planning.
In both innings, Ganguly with all his experience was deceived by the previous over, as was Tendulkar in the second innings by the over by Panesar to Karthik where the ball turned appreciably
Rahul Dravid is falling too much to the off-side, and those who say that with all the runs in this team they don’t need a batting coach, will probably have a rethink because a coach would tell them exactly that.
At this level, nobody can do much tinkering with what’s natural, but every cricketer can get into a bad habit and that needs to be shown to him so that he can correct it and get back to his successful ways.
Just a word or two, a tip here and there can work wonders. India will be pleased with its bowling, but will need to work hard at its fielding and look closely at its batting failures.
Whether there will be any changes in the eleven will depend not only on the pitch, but the weather conditions, and with what’s been around in England in the last month or so, there seems to be no respite from the rain for England. — PMG
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