da betobet： In one of my earlier columns, I had opined that the Indians had agood chance of giving their fans an encore of the glorious WestIndies tour of 1971
Erapalli Prasanna23-May-2002In one of my earlier columns, I had opined that the Indians had agood chance of giving their fans an encore of the glorious WestIndies tour of 1971. When they won the Test at Port of Spain, theteam looked good to fulfill my prediction, raising hopes of anaway series win. But India surrendered the early advantage bylosing the Barbados Test and allowing the West Indies to levelthe series.Both teams had everything to play for in Jamaica, but if I had toput my money on one of them, it would have been the West Indies,simply because of the home advantage.The toss was very crucial; it was important that the team winningthe toss bowled first to make use of an unusually grassy Kingstonwicket. India failed to make use of that advantage and thusallowed the hosts to wrest control of the match right from thefirst day. I am sure that the West Indian bowlers would haveextracted more bounce and pace than the Indians managed on thefirst day. The Caribbean pace battery is physically strong, afacet that sets them apart from the Indian seamers and allowsthem to generate more speed off the pitch.
© CricInfoHarbhajan Singh, however, brought India back into the game afterthe West Indies looked to dominate the first two days. I mustcongratulate the off-spinner for picking up his 100th Testwicket. The spongy nature of the track helped Harbhajan extractconsiderable bounce and turn, but that did not stop the WestIndies from racking up a first-innings total of 422 – one thatdid not show the Indian fast bowlers in good light.Their Caribbean counterparts, however, made the most of thepitch. The unpredictable bounce also helped to no uncertainextent, playing on the minds of the Indian batsmen and causingthem to play with uncertainty. Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxmanalone looked comfortable. Ganguly was very confident and battedbeautifully, while Laxman seems to have finally come to termswith the reputation of being a class player. The Hyderabadi hasbeen much more watchful in this series, selling his wicketdearly.After having conceded a 210-run first-innings lead, JavagalSrinath & Co. bowled well to restrict the West Indies batsmen to197 in their second innings. The subsequent target of 408 was astiff one, but with a strong batting line-up, India were alwaysin with a chance of pulling off a record win. Those chances onlygot better when Sachin Tendulkar, after the early exit of theopeners, began to play with a determination unseen in hisprevious innings in the series.Tendulkar had been playing mostly off his front foot for theseries up to that point; in Jamaica, though, he was conscious ofthat fact and appeared keen to get onto his back foot. It wasthis pre-determined approach that Pedro Collins exploited,sneaking one through to shatter the stumps. I think thatTendulkar picked neither the line nor the movement off thewicket.Collins, incidentally, should be proud of his achievements inthis series. Not often do you find one bowler, especially aninexperienced one, having so much success against the world’sbest batsman.
© CricInfoAt Sabina Park, the West Indies seemed a much more committed sidethan India. Two outstanding pieces of work in the field by MervDillon and Cameron Cuffy stand out; mind you, both of thesebowlers must have been tired after bowling long spells. Thewonderful catch that Dillon took, running backwards, to dismissLaxman, and Cuffy’s brilliant work to dismiss Harbhajan Singh saya lot about the attitude and approach that the West Indiesbrought with them into the decider.India were also hindered by going into the final Test with justone spinner, a miscalculation in the bowling department thatallowed the West Indies to score 287 runs on the first day afterasking them to have a bat.The Indian pace attack looks good to bowl only the first 15 oversand, given this fact, the team management’s decision to bowlfirst must be seen as a defensive one. Even if it was made toallow the track to slow down and help the batsmen, the eventsnarrate a different story. The Indian batting was sub-standard ona track that had already been used for a day and a half.Not that India did not have their chances. In the second innings,the West Indies were on the mat at 120 for six, but they werethen allowed to go on to make 197 and set a target of 408. Thatwas the final nail to be hammered into the coffin.What sets apart a great team from a good team is how they convertthe half-chances and slender opportunities into gloriousvictories. For the Indians, this was not to be; they surrenderedmeekly, exposing the limitations of both their batting and theirbowling resources.There cannot be any doubt regarding the talent and stature of afew individuals in the Indian team. But then again, the overallstrength of the Indian team does not pose a threat to theopponents, and that, I think, is the biggest drawback of thisIndian side.