Batsmen have a ball

The threats of 8216;chin music8217; have obviously helped India8217;s batsmen get on song. If it was the Famous Four in the Tests, the younger brigade Sehwag and Yuvraj have taken over for the ODIs. The bounce in the Australian pitches has been tackled and the batting seems to be in fine fettle.

In fact in his four-year tenure, Ganguly8217;s India 8212; which has won away ODI series in the West Indies, England and Sri Lanka and an ICC Champions Trophy 8212; has been far more impressive with the bat than the ball. Sure there have been Test wins abroad but the batting has almost always held sway. The low has been India8217;s tour to New Zealand in 2002-03, which was a total disaster owing to reasons other than sheer cricket, but it hardly mattered when the World Cup came around.

India8217;s best one-day year was 2002, when the Indian team struck a purple patch on tours to the West Indies, England and Sri Lanka. The crucial aspect was that the batting was lengthened by the fact that Rahul Dravid kept wickets, affording the top-order some insurance. The World Cup too was another high but the batsmen there were usually finishing the work started by the bowlers and were hardly troubled by the pitches, which had flattened out by the time Indian roadshow began. Till before this tour India8217;s one-day exploits in the 21st century would always been remembered for the Natwest final and the World Cup show. But this Aussie tour could change it all.

If some years down the line historians were to look back at this series they8217;d probably come up with these reasons for the improved showing:
8226; A settled batting line-up
8226; Continuity through Tests and ODIs
8226; Changed approach of Laxman and Dravid
8226; Confident Yuvraj following the Test regulars
8226; Right person for the right job Sehwag as opener, Yuvraj for the slog and so on
8226; Confident captain at the helm

Perhaps the most important difference has been in the settled line-up. Unlike in Tests, opening was never a problem in ODIs. The Ganguly-Tendulkar old firm was reliable and feared the most. But cricketing logic didn8217;t approve of the best padding up first and being exposed to the best bowlers. Sehwag8217;s emergence, and Ganguly dropping down the order, has spaced out the attackers and the anchor players.

At No.3, Laxman has been a revelation. It8217;s perhaps the biggest single factor contributing to the success, his ground offensive the perfect follow-through to Sachin and Sehwag8217;s aerial attack. A shade slower than the top two but a perfect mid-overs man. A dependable crisis manager if wickets fall early.

Dravid seems much happier coming in at No. 4, as does the rest of the team. No. 3 was too high for him in case he got bogged down; at two-down, he can man the bridge if Laxman gets out early. And if he joins Laxman at the wicket, heaven help the bowlers. It is, indeed, rare for two batsmen in one team to be in such good form at the same time 8212; and India are benefiting from this coincidence. Yuvraj8217;s arrival has afforded a much-needed change of approach in the later stages of the one-day game. His effervescence, not only on the field but with the bat, is a reflection of the New India.

Ganguly8217;s record as a captain since the struggle of the early days has also improved because he no longer has to look over his shoulder. Initially underperforming heavyweights like Azhar, Jadeja and Robin Singh made the simplest tasks difficult and the team faltered despite experienced heads following the top-order. Post match-fixing the team has had to be built brick by brick and one-time novices Sehwag and Yuvraj are the old hands. The batting assumes even greater importance given that the bowling is undergoing a period of transition. Srinath8217;s retirement leaves Zaheer Khan as the senior strike bowler and Kumble, for all his heroics, is really a lion in winter. The batting can undo almost any damage sustained by the bowling.

There are problems, however, most important being a tail that refuses to wag and chasing scores remains a major irritant. Also, there is no genuine all-rounder in the side, though the current line-up appears to be doing well enough without.