India's Game In Tatters

Clearly India's one-day cricket has gone to pieces. Thetag of World Cup finalists has rarely been so ill-deserved. Now they haveplayers who are playing only for themselves. There is so much uncertainty thatPathans, Gangulys, Harbhajans, Kumbles and Agarkars all look to be emerging froma revolving door.

India will have to start from the scratch. They have tobe honest and ask themselves if they can afford selfish players. Such men mightsurvive to play the next match but the Indian team would not move an inchforward. By now, it is such a bedraggled unit that even form batsmen are losingtheir plots.

Virender Sehwag is now trying to play a mixed game ofattack and defence. It would never carry him forward for he doesn't have thetechnique of a defensive batsman. In Pakistan last year, as well as in the earlypart of this tour, he was smashing hits in the cover-to-third man region. Now hewas trying to play grounded shots. Consequently, with rolled down wrists thecatches are going into the hands of fielders.

The second in-form batsman Rahul Dravid too showed the pressure. There was noreason for him to go for that run. A premier batsman should never open himselfto a situation where a decision on his run-out is being judged by the thirdumpire. It implies that a decision is too close for comfort. His was the mostvaluable wicket and he risked a perfectly avoidable situation. Yuvraj Singh toowas an unnecessary waste. It reflected the team's state of mind.

Ashish Nehra, after that splendid first-up delivery toShahid Afridi bowled a few freebies down the legside. This team's confidence iscompletely dried up. If a team, from being 2-0 up, goes on to lose the series,it means drastic measures can no longer be avoided.

Pakistan on the other hand were so sure of theircombination and ability. If you trust the next man, automatically you perform anotch higher than your ability. It showed in the way Rana Naved-ul Hasan bowled.He is not superior to India's Nehras and Zaheers but he is now confident sincehe has had success against your batsmen.

Sachin Tendulkar, after that carefree hundred inAhmedabad, is back to his cautious ways. It is never going to help the team andsooner than later, he would be open to scrutiny by the public.

Pakistan's batting worked so well in tandem despite twoatrocious umpiring decisions. I just couldn't believe when Yousuf Youhana wasgiven out. I really thought the umpire had pressed the wrong button. They battedwith confidence and it was this ingredient which was reflected in the tworun-outs they managed in the field.

On hindsight, Pakistan's saving of the Mohali Test was the defining moment ofthe sereies. Two irregular batsmen showed the rest if they could do it in alosing cause, the others too could pull their weight in the days ahead. As theseries progressed, Pakistan kept drawing confidence from that singular moment ofdefiance.

It is instructive for India to remember they couldn'tbeat a side which was without their star striker Shoaib Akhtar. The rest of thebowlers were not better than your Kumbles and Harbhajans, Balajis and Pathans.But by the end, the lapses of the rest proved too much to bear even for them.

Inzamam-ul Haq now goes back home with his statureenhanced. To overcome the deficit in the Tests and one-dayers, team bondingplayed a critical part.

India missed that selfless spirit in their ranks. Nowthey need to identify a pool of 20-30 cricketers and start finetuning astuttering engine. They also need to rotate their men. It is the only way tostir a few settled men out of their slumber.

At Kotla, it was a return of that sickening feelingwhen a section of the crowd held up play. One felt frustrated and helpless: twoPremiers in attendance, scores of celebrities and dignitaries, packed stands, aglorious finale all but accomplished. Then some stupid heads got into the act.They didn't appreciate the moment and let the whole of India down. If they wereunhappy with the team, they chose the wrong way. Improve your team rather thanbark up the wrong tree.

PTI