Waste Indies for Indian young guns in the Caribbean

Cheteshwar Pujara & Co landed on Caribbean soil with everything to gain. The tour was meant to identify Rahul Dravid and, very soon, VVS Laxman’s successors. Pujara and Rohit Sharma were the frontrunners for the two immediate slots. That was before Ajinkya Rahane screamed for attention with kind of knocks that made you think: how could he be any lesser than the two.

Then there is Manoj Tiwary, a talent waiting to be burnished, but in danger of petering out for want of opportunities. For these men, the tour was a chance to assure the selectors that they were ready for the game’s ultimate inquisition: Test cricket.

Three Tests and two ODIs later, only Pujara has returned with an A grade, though Wriddhiman Saha, Akshay Darekar, Shami Ahmed and Ashok Dinda held their own occasionally. Mind you, all the Indian batsmen had international caps, but floundered in demanding conditions.

Seldom has an India ‘A’ team fetched such frugal returns from an overseas assignment. Fair to say that the West Indies had more to celebrate. Delorn Johnson, Jason Holder, Veeraswamy Permaul, Kevin McClean and Jonathan Carter have given their selectors reasons to be optimistic.

After evaluating India’s individual performances in the West Indies — India lost the ‘Test’ series 1-2 and drew the ODIs rather unconvincingly — we wonder whether the young guns have reached a sticky end.

Rohit finishes a poor sixth
His 94 in the series opener didn’t come as a surprise. After all, he was in sublime form in the IPL. However, Rohit Sharma’s next five outings in the three-match ‘unofficial’ Test series read 23, 1, 13, 12 and 2. Left-arm pacer Delorn Johnson got him on three occasions, West Indies ‘A’ skipper and left-arm spinner

Veerasammy Permaul twice and Jonathan Carter once. He was expected to top the batting charts, but he finished a poor sixth with 145 runs at an average of 24. His Test debut could be delayed. He was the team’s highest wicket-taker, though, with nine scalps. Sharma got 55 runs and two wickets in the two-match Twenty20 series as well as the three-match one-day series (both rubbers were drawn).

Rahane: graft, craft missing
The Mumbaikar was another of those IPL stars who came a cropper in the Caribbean. Scores of 0, 5, 18 and 5 at No 3 were followed by a 32 and 2 at the top of the order. His reputation of being a grafter and innings-builder took a big hit. Rahane made up — somewhat, that is — for his poor showing in the four-dayers with a match-winning 79 in the must-win second T20 game. His 58 in the first one-dayer came in a losing cause. All in all, it was a forgettable tour for Rahane. His place in the ODI side was never in question. But he failed to impress in the longer format. And it’s the Test team that will have vacancies sooner than later.

Pujara stands tall
With purity of technique, he was the only batsman to stand out. His undefeated 96 at the Kensington Oval enabled India to win the Test after being reduced to 115 for eight. In the company of tailender Shami Ahmed, Pujara won India a thriller. His other scores in the series were 50, 67, 1, 33 and five — 252 runs at 50.40. By the way, he had played only three games in the IPL. Is that why his orthodox batting remained unadulterated? He will be the first contender for the No 3 position when the national selectors meet in August to announce the squad that will play New Zealand at home. Now, all he has to ensure is his body doesn’t break down again.

Tiwary squanders starts
Manoj Tiwary will rue the fact that he had the starts but failed to cash in. Leg-before, caught at slip and bowled were the manner of his dismissals. What’s interesting, though, that he had consumed the maximum number of balls in both the second and third Test which the Indians lost convincingly. The flamboyant Bengal batsman has to tighten his defence in order to be a consistent international bat. One half-century in six innings is surely not enough at any level. His fighting half-century in the final Test, when India had lost four quick wickets, should have given him oodles of confidence for the ODIs. However, there too he squandered the starts.

Saha slugs it out
Wriddhiman Saha may feel cursed that he is playing in the same era as MS Dhoni. His wicketkeeping in the West Indies was neat as usual. It was heartening to see Saha slug it out with the bat, while his more illustrious colleagues failed. The figures may not show it — 158 runs in the Tests at 26.33 — but the diminutive gloveman has evolved with the bat as his half-century at St Lucia in the final Test suggests. Saha may not be as enterprising as Dinesh Karthik, but doubt not the grit. Barring an injury to Dhoni, he’ll continue to be India’s perennial benchwarmer.  

Mukund bombs big time
The Tamil Nadu left-hander had a disastrous series, with a highest score of 20 in six innings and opening the tour with a pair in Barbados. He fell four times to the left-arm pace of Delorn Johnson and twice to the other new-ball bowler Jason Holder. Given that he did show some promise in England, it’s strange that he has fallen by the wayside. Mukund was not new to the West Indies conditions. He was baptised in Test cricket in the Caribbean, playing all the three matches a year ago. He cannot blame the IPL for his failures as he did not figure in any game for Chennai Super Kings.

Dhawan exposed too...
Shikhar Dhawan, who was in splendid touch in the IPL, was cruelly exposed. Scores of 9 and 13 in Barbados and 0 and 8 in St Vincent did not do the 26-year-old’s confidence as well as the team’s chances any good. Courtesy the Indian openers’ dismal run, the middle-order would invariably be in early. Dhawan also failed at number three in the second dig of the St. Vincent Test before putting up a better show in the ODIs. He returned without an impact innings, which explains why he is typecast as an ODI or T20 specialist. Truly, it is said the transition from limited-overs to the higher version is tough.

Rahul, where’s the fizz?
The mindset with which the tall leg-spinner  Rahul Sharma went to the West Indies reflected on his performance. In the news for the wrong reasons — he was spotted at a rave party during the IPL — Sharma did not have spells that befit his international stature. Considering that he has been a regular in India’s ODI side, a great deal was expected from him. He doesn’t seem to have a special ball and relies more on accuracy and bounce. Occasionally, there were two R Sharmas on the bowling scoreboard, Rohit being the other one. Funny as it seems, Rohit had better figures. 

Dinda-Shami dazzle
Ashok Dinda and Shami Ahmed had their moments. Dinda bowled a brilliant spell in the second ODI at St George that helped India level the series. Not much is known about Shami and it’s too early to conclude if he is an India material. He is in the mould of Dinda, clocking the high 130s consistently. He has a lean frame and generates pace from a smooth run-up. Shami bowled a fantastic spell (4/48) in the second Test at St. Vincent to dismiss the West Indies for 217. He and Dinda shared six wickets between them. This is not to suggest that India have unearthed the next Javagal Srinath-Venkatesh Prasad combo — far from it.