Analysis: Fear of losing overcomes Dhoni & Co

It was left to Duncan Fletcher to defend India’s inexplicably timid decision not to try for a win in the final Test against the West Indies, and he went at it more gamely than Rahul Dravid and Co did with their target of 180 in 47 overs. The pitch was so slow that you could not score at more than three runs an over, and anyway chasing a target at four an over is difficult in a Test match which has no fielding restrictions, claimed India’s new coach.

Well, even Murali Vijay, who failed in all his previous outings in this series, scored at 3.5 an over; so to claim that the likes of Dravid, Laxman, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni himself could not have done likewise rings hollow. And while it is true that Test cricket allows captains to set ultra defensive fields, we are talking of 3.8 an over, not a run a ball.

Dravid’s initial caution after the fall of Mukund was understandable, but he never once changed tack, even when his second wicket partnership with Vijay flourished. We know from the IPL that the Wall can get moving when required, so we have to assume that Dhoni and Fletcher were happy to let him just hold one end up. They did promote Suresh Raina up the order, but once he got out before he was able to get into his stride, they shut shop.

At that stage, India needed 94 in 19 overs at 5 an over. With seven wickets in hand, why would India settle for a 1-0 series win and not even attempt to win another Test on foreign soil? Dhoni says India could’ve lost the Test, but it’s hard to imagine a batting collapse of that magnitude on a placid track where the Windies made their first 300-plus score in six Test matches.  

Surely the Indian captain could’ve sent Kohli and perhaps Harbhajan Singh out to throw their bats about before calling it a day?

Giving up so early betrayed not only a negative mindset but also a disregard for fans. Players and officials keep lamenting the declining support for Test cricket, but if this is the sort of ending they will dish out after five days of cricket, what do they expect? The stadium at Dominica was packed and back home in India, fans stayed up late into the night to watch what had the makings of a nice finale. 

Instead, they saw with bemusement Dravid and Laxman blocking everything after the fall of the third wicket and then Darren Sammy gleefully accepting the draw offered to him at the start of the final hour with 15 overs left. A Test match is a long-drawn-out affair in itself, but if teams are going to be content to hold on to a 1-0 lead at the start of a series and not take the minutest of risks in the remaining matches, that’s really letting down this beautiful game.

Dhoni also let himself down with a display of negativity ahead of the Indian summer in England. Australia dominated the game for so long partly because the opposition would be deflated even before taking the field; India can hardly have the same effect on rival teams if it settles for a draw with 94 to get in 19 overs with 7 wickets in hand.