India’s 3-2 series win in the one-day international series against the West Indies is a tribute to Suresh Raina’s young team. The hosts did manage to bounce back after the Indians had taken an unbeatable 3-0 lead but it is to the credit of the visiting side that they managed to land enough early blows to decide the issue quickly. And, in doing so, there were sufficient positives to take into not only the Test matches, the first of which gets under way on
Monday, but also for the significant future. With eight members of the World Cup-winning squad opting out of the series for one reason or the other, it was an opportunity for many who have been on the fringe to stake a serious claim. In that sense, the five matches were a mixed blessing inasmuch as it was still the more established stars who did their cause no harm at all, while the others did not really make full use of the chance. Cricketers like Virat Kohli and Munaf Patel are regulars in the full India team anyway and they played significant roles in the triumph, while Rohit Sharma and Amit Sharma underlined their credentials effectively.
What was disappointing was the inability of the second string, in particular men like Yusuf Pathan, Subramaniam Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary and R. Ashwin, to really put their hands up and be counted, though, as a team, the Indians were an effective — and even eye-catching — side, particularly in the field. That the West Indies regrouped well enough to come back and win the final two games is also promising. The three Tests that lie ahead should be a little closer than anticipated earlier given the West Indies’ poor standing in the rankings vis-à-vis that of India. Now that Darren Sammy’s men have two consecutive wins over the Indians under their belts, they will go into the opening five-day game at Sabina Park in a much more positive frame of mind. For their part, India will be buttressed by the presence of their charismatic captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and seniors like Rahul Dravid and Venkatasai Laxman, the two batting bulwarks of the Test team. Plenty of juggling lies ahead for Dhoni and new coach Duncan Fletcher given the rash of injuries that have virtually decimated the team. The bowling, in particular, will be a fairly inexperienced unit with Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth and possibly even Munaf Patel all sidelined by injury and it leaves a lot on the shoulders of Harbhajan Singh, who did not have a particularly hot time in the ODIs and seems to have lost some of his fire. Thankfully Amit Sharma’s sterling form and his fist over some of the West Indian batsmen will hold the team in good stead. With the new ball, Ishant Sharma is likely to have a completely new-look set of mates. Add to that the penchant of the West Indian Cricket Board to shoot itself in the foot in leaving their best batsman, Chris Gayle, out of the Test team, and you have the ingredients of an interesting series, but one the Indians should put away to keep their recent record in the Caribbean intact. The last time India toured the West Indies was in 2006, under Dravid’s captaincy, and they came home with their first Test series victory in the islands in 35 years.
Meanwhile, with the cricket control board continuing to oppose the decision review system in bilateral series, the heat is building in England to which India will travel after the Caribbean. There has already been plenty of chatter from some members of the England side but they need to be mindful that some of their Indian rivals have very long memories. One Sachin Tendulkar in particular comes to mind first up.