Ball Sense
No shame in this defeat
India lost the Melbourne Test by nine wickets, but it was not as comprehensive a defeat as the scoreline suggests. The team fought well and displayed pride and professionalism for most of the match. Virender Sehwag’s effort in the first innings was one of courage, application and his customary flair. Like his partner Akash Chopra, he was hit on the helmet, but unlike him, he was hit twice, and both times by Brett Lee expresses. To concentrate as both openers did, without flinching, or going into their shell, after those blows, was admirable. When Sehwag, after a watchful, slow start, broke into a flurry of breathtaking shots, the Australian attack looked pedestrian.

Rahul Dravid’s dismissal proved to be the turning point in both innings, a measure of his dominance in this series. Sourav Ganguly too proved he is worthy of his position in the team as its captain and frontline batsman. To replace the out-of-form Sachin Tendulkar at No 4 was a bold move and an instance of a positive captain standing up to be counted when it mattered most to the team’s cause.

The Indian batting clicked once again despite Tendulkar’s failure, and this is no mean development. It really proves that this team has come of age. The happy news is that Sachin has also run into some semblance of form, with his second innings 44. That the team collapsed in both innings after the top order’s dismissal was only a reiteration of the fact of its long tail. Nobody is going to blame the likes of Anil Kumble and Ajit Agarkar if they fail with the bat, but the way they flung their bats about wildly instead of trying to concentrate, showed them in a poor light. It’s high time the lower order started contributing its mite with the bat.

The Indian bowling was by and large disciplined, and Anil Kumble proved a point with his sustained accuracy and persistence. Though he was expensive, most of the scoring off his bowling was facilitated by attacking fields rather than poor bowling.

Handicapped by the recurrence of Zaheer Khan’s groin injury, the Indian bowling never wilted under Ricky Ponting’s and Matthew Hayden’s onslaught. Given Zaheer’s long absences from the field and inability to bowl at his best, there was no shame in India losing this Test, especially as Australia outbatted rather than outbowl India. Ideally, Ganguly and his men will erase the memories of this defeat clean from their minds and focus on trying to win at Sydney. I’ll stick my neck out and predict an Indian victory, provided Ganguly’s good luck with the toss holds.

V Ramnarayan
email: wordcraft@vsnl.com 

Back to Index