Will India Find Redemption in ODIs

While the rest of the world seemed to gloat over the inevitable eviction of the Indian Cricket team from the top of the ICC Test ranking list, the English, who felled the goliath went about a silent and dignified way in doing the task. This is one defining aspect of the current English team that makes them a much more likeable bunch than the Invincible Aussies of yore. In victory as in defeat, they maintain a high level of dignity. Test rankings will come and go but the respect for this team will stand the test of time for a very long while.

Much of the credit for the resurgence of England as a Cricket powerhouse goes to the reticent but tenacious Andy Flower. He had the opportunity of being a part of the Zimbabwe team that rose to a record prominence and then waned to deplorable troughs. Having lived through that kind of an experience, Flower is ideally placed to guide a talented but mercurial England team to its true and deserved glory. Although the ODI team is yet to stamp its dominance the way the Test team has, it sure has shown signs of definite greatness. Under the aegis of the wily coach and the new captain we may see some very interesting results in the coming ODI series against India. 

Most of the columnists have discussed at length how India lost the series in England. The actual story however is how England won the battle. India, with all their excuses, cannot seriously disbelieve that they were up against an England team that they would have found difficult to beat even with all their resources at optimal efficiency. Last time when India toured England, arguably they had the best XI at their disposal. The middle order was the strongest with all four apostles in form, bowling had a bite to it with the likes of Zaheer Khan and Kumble snapping wickets. But that was four years back. Since then, India has found no successor for Sourav Ganguly in the 5/6 position, no spinner to match the prowess of Kumble and no fast bowler who can provide cover for the indifferent fitness of Zaheer Khan. Having said that, it is hard to imagine how a single fully fit Zaheer Khan or a more confident Raina could have altered the end result in any considerable way. Long story short, England had far better resources and the distinct home advantage to win the series with ease. India, on the other hand, have a long list of questions to answer.

The usual sabre rattling has commenced as the ODI series is about to begin. Indians, though victor in all three practice games, do not seem to have solved the bowling equation yet. R.P. Singh has shown rare promise after the disastrous outing at the Oval and new import Varun Aaron has been sent on a leatherhunt on the only occasion that he had to make a solid case for himself. Except for Praveen Kumar and Ashwin, no other bowler has shown any constancy in form. This is a case of worry for India as they will have to bet on 7+4 combination and anyone bowler not performing at an accepted level will seriously unbalance their strategy. England on the other hand have a whole bunch of in-form players who are more than capable of delivering the killer punch. Having won the series against Sri Lanka with some commendable performances, their confidence has every reason to be soaring high. It will be an interesting series as India will have mighty lot to defend and England a bounty to gain. It is also a litmus test for India’s bench and will determine whether the team was running on fumes when it won the World Cup or does it have able players to stand up in the absence of the stalwarts. All in all, a very exciting couple of weeks of Cricket action ahead.

An Honest Requiem

Watching the Indian team go down in a whimper against an England side that seems to have an endless supply of tenacious bowlers and resolute batsmen reminds one of the sorry tour of Australia that India undertook almost a decade back when schoolboys from down under offered to teach Indian batsmen how to know where their off stump lay. It was a disaster of a tour that necessitated a lot of changes. It was also a tour that broughtforth a complete reversal of the way the team played its game. But remember this, the side prevailed. India reorganized. A new captain came in, so did a new attitude. When this new team travelled down under the next time, the schoolboys who were comfortably in their mid to late teens stood in awe as their side was given a fight of their own kind. Perhaps it was the success of that tour downunder which galvanized the Indian team to the top of the table in test rankings. The batting might of the team was in full display with all guns blazing and the bowling bolstered by Anil Kumble’s then new found ability to run through line ups even in foreign lands. Kumble is gone. The batting engine is still the same but it is ageing. Top four from the vaunted list are on the wrong side of 30, 3 of them further south close to forty. Maybe, this is one of those moments where changes will be in demand. Heads that have not been adorned with olive twigs shall be called to be felled. Maybe, rightly so.

But let’s hold our horses for a while. Is it the batting failure that is to be blamed entirely for this debacle? When India shipped to England, they knew that the conditions in Her Majesty’s land are going to favour fast bowling in a big way. That coupled with the quality and quantity of such speedsters that England has in its stables should have raised enough flags within the Indian thinktank that no matter how vaunted the history of the batting stars be, they would always be circumspect against a quality trial by fire from the English bowlers under banana swinging conditions. That  along with almost three quarter of a year playing in the sub continental and the vastly different South African conditions was a sure shot concoction to forget the location of your off stump while facing late swinging ninety milers from the tall English chaps. Play the English in the sub continent for a series each in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and then subject them to a South African bowling attack in Edgbaston under a skyfull of clouds, you can bet your life the likes of Bell, Cook, Strauss and surely Pietersen would be no better than a Sehwag trying to hoink Jimmy Anderson over covers the first ball he faces. That is what habit makes of you.

This obvious gap in the armour necessitated the strengthening of the bowling attack. That brings us to the sadder part of the case. India’s bowling attack is an euphemism in itself considering the fact that said attack often looks to hide behind tall scores and aims at most to defend them successfully. Since the departure of the ever spirited Anil Kumble, no bowler of India has looked menacing enough to tear apart a batting side, home or away. Harbhajan has come close but waxed and waned too frequently. Zaheer Khan is by far the most talismanic bowler that India has found but with a body more fragile than a glass house, his services have been costly to say the least. But then, that is the case with most teams. Lead spinners do get out of rhythm, fast bowlers do tear their hamstrings. It is in these situations that the underlings need to stand up to the occasion. Sadly for India, that has not happened. None from the second rung of Sreesanth, Munaf, R.P. Singh or Ishant Sharma have matured to make good of the countless opportunities bestowed on them. It is a sad irony that a bowler with a pace of a military medium to say the max has to lead this Indian “attack”.

With all due respect, and that is well earned, Praveen Kumar cannot threaten a quality batting side with his fastness or the lack of it even if he manages to execute boomerang swing over, under and sideways. He is a good find for Indian cricket and will be most successful in the shorter games where batsmen will look to attack him at every instance and fall to the swings and the close in field settings. However in the longer format, he must play the strategic role of a stock bowler who chokes one end up while the other end is opened for flat out offensive fast bowling. But with the likes of Sreesanth with his attention span of a toddler and Ishant Sharma without the guidance of a saintly Zaheer Khan, this other end is more likely going to turn into the team’s Waterloo with free flowing runs and zero returns. Add to that the absence of a reliable spinner, a scoreline of 3-0 does not look all that blameable on the batsmen. India’s woes with fast bowling was, is and will be a constant nemesis. It will force the team to start as underdogs each time they venture out of the sub-continent. The only way to counter this is by augmenting the inadequacies with string batting and offensive spin bowling.

The issue of spin bowling is a far more worrisome prospect. It is shocking to find India not being able to identify a worthy successor to Kumble. Not a single bowler has emerged who can rightfully walk into the side irrespective of the location or condition of the match. Harbhajan has been more out of form than in, Piyush Chawla has his own demons and Amit Mishra seems to be unmindful of the virtues of line and length far too often. This leaves us with Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha. Neither are miracle workers. But Ashwin has the attitude and guile to bowl up front to destructive openers in shorter formats of the game with little protection outside the thirty yards. If nothing it is brave of a slow bowler to engage in such suicidal duels with marauding opening bats. This boy very obviously deserves a berth in the team even in the presence of Harbhajan. Pragyan Ojha is again the first left arm bowler of any reckoning to emerge in a long while. He brings in variety to an otherwise uniform fare. Now that the experiments with Singh, Mishra and Chawla have returned naught, it is time to bring the rearguard up. It cannot get any worse from here.

Rest assured that Indian batsmen are having a bad slump. This is not a bunch of players who nick every good length bowl thrown at them. It is just the effect of lack of orientation. An army, however well trained, cannot win battles in hostile terrains unless the acclimatization is adequate. Same goes with batters. A tour to Sri Lanka might not require five tour games but a visit to England certainly makes a case for the same. That said, it cannot be an excuse for anyone to come and gift their wickets away.

Indian batting line up is due for a major shakeup in very near future. Almost the entire middle order has gone past its use by date with no definite replacements in sight. Replacements will not be found until replacements are injected in while time has not run out. The Kohlis, Rohit Sharmas, Pujaras need to be brought into the playing eleven while the big boys are still operational. A phase wise retirement is better than a sudden and complete overhaul. Surely, after this series has ended, with disappointment levels running steep there would be calls to get rid of the old guard. It is typical of India that each success and failure is religiously blown out of proportion. But such surge of emotions needs to be checked. No doubt they have lost but that does not make them any less deserving a winner that they were. The team has a good captain and a bunch of talents that need to be backed. That done and a caustic analysis of pre-tour warm up schedule guaranteed, there is no reason why this team cannot  make Australia their launchpad for a second coming to glory.