Will London leg bring luck for Team India?

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If a Chennai lad may be pardoned his one outrageous comment on television, it can be said that India can do with fewer of Nasser Hussain’s dim-witted and slow-footed animals in the team. Winless India may be in England but at least they did not make asses of themselves in the T20 and the first two ODIs. The batting might in fact be considered a pointer to the future.

Limited-overs cricket is going to be far more of India’s kettle of fish. If there are so many animal (and other living things) metaphors, maybe it has something to do with Chennai into whose cricket-loving air the former England captain was born.
However, it must be said it is not often a Chennaiite’s lot to be derided in public as its cricketers have generally been known for their stiff upper lip. Somehow, Nasser, son of a popular member of the Madras Cricket Club, let slip on one occasion, but did not show much remorse for his act leading to further rounds of India-style sensitivity.
On the field of play, one or two Indian captains have been known to utter far worse words to describe errant fieldsmen. But in this day and age, when specialist coaches teach you everything, including how to throw from the outfield without letting your arm spring out of the shoulder, there should be very few of the types described by Nasser Hussain. Or, at least Team India cannot afford them as there is no place to hide in a high-intensity arena.
For years we have been crying hoarse about the general standards of Indian fielding. With a couple of men nearing their 40th birthday, it must be nightmarish for the captain to rearrange the field in such a way that the ones with the greatest alacrity are in the circle.
While T20s can be as unpredictable and fickle as the English weather, the 50-overs format still represents India’s best chance. And this is not only so because India are the current World Cup champions, crowned so in Indian conditions in which they excelled, timing their campaign to a nicety.
A whole generation of batsmen has grown up learning to strike the ball hard and bash it out of the ground for what paid commentators call the ‘Maximum’ with a corporate prefix.
It’s a different story in other departments. Truth to tell, Team India’s bowling needs more than a bit of help these days from the conditions as we saw when Alastair Cook and his ODI opening partner Craig Kieswetter dismantled the attack to launch the chase at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
The problem is the batting tends to give way if there is help in the pitch or conditions to opposition bowlers. This is one of Indian cricket’s great dilemmas. It’s also a reason why the away record is not that great in ODIs.
While the great debate goes on about how much cricket is too much in a season, there is so much to be set right that the BCCI itself may wish the England tour would get over soon. To retrieve some honour, Team India must win at least two of the remaining ODIs. The London venues and fuller games might just give the World Cup champion a chance to better England whom India have not beaten in a while now since the World Cup match too ended in a tie.