Looking back over the nightmarish fortnight in which he has lost two Test matches back-to-back, M.S. Dhoni will be flush with rue and remorse at what might have been.
Mind you, England’s victories have been so comprehensive that to deny them any credit would tantamount to absurdity.
Yet, there were several instances in which both Tests hung in the balance before they swung England’s way, thanks to the ineptitude and/or pusillanimity of the Indian team.
There were a couple of occasions at Lord’s when India looked like they had England on the hop but lost the advantage. But at least in the first Test it could be said that the early loss of Zaheer Khan was a debilitating blow and once England had made 450-plus in the first innings, they could not lose.
At Trent Bridge, however, Dhoni won an important toss, got the best bowling and batting conditions, got a decent first innings lead, and yet his team muffed it up. Having dismissed England for a modest 221, India were at one stage 162/4, with Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh engaged in a major partnership. Only one team looked likely winners from here, and it must rile the Indian captain that it was not his.
Stuart Broad’s hat-trick knocked over the middle-order in double quick time, but even so, a lead of 67 was not insignificant in conditions which remained helpful for seam and swing bowlers all through. In fact, in the second innings England were in deep trouble when two wickets were lost before the lead had been covered.
India looked to hold all the aces but were trumped by a blistering counter-attack by Ian Bell first, and then the dynamic lower order. England slammed in excess of 400 runs in the day instead of being bowled out for half that as every expert had reckoned.
So shell-shocked were the Indians that they folded up in less than 50 overs the next day, with plenty of time still remaining in the game.
Sporting contests between individuals or teams of fairly equal talent are won by those who prevail in crunch situations. The pattern of play in both Tests reveals England were able to raise their game whenever the going got tough while India’s players tended to buckle under when under pressure.
England’s batsmen have come good when runs were needed most, bowlers have discovered reserves of strength after a long day in the field, or late swing in perfect batting conditions, the fielding’s been decidedly superior even if they have dropped as many catches as India. Overall, they have shown more intensity and energy to win, while the Indian have been lacklustre and defensive.
How could a team with so much depth of experience and evident talent do so badly? It would be fair to say that Dhoni has suffered because of injuries and fitness problems to key players.
The loss of Zaheer was a body blow, compounded by the poor form of Harbhajan Singh. Barring the magnificent Dravid, the batting has looked fragile and either burdened with expectation — as in the case of Tendulkar and Laxman — or just technically inadequate against swing and bounce, as the struggles of Mukund, Raina, Yuvraj and Dhoni have shown.
Most pertinently, however, the team have looked undercooked for this tour. The fitness of several players is suspect, there has not been enough time for the players to jell, and only one warm-up game leading up to the first Test shows how thoughtlessly the itinerary was structured.
As the world’s top-ranked Test team, India’s preparation for this tour has been shockingly lackadaisical.
Perhaps somewhere in this disaster, there is a lesson for India’s cricket administration.
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