Complacency, all over once again

It has happened time and again, and just when we thought the Indian team has undergone a facelift, they proved they can be just as complacen...

It has happened time and again, and just when we thought the Indian team has undergone a facelift, they proved they can be just as complacent and overconfident as they have been on numerous occasions in the past. This was most glaring when they took on 19-year-old from Peshawar Umar Gul. And therefore, after a brilliant performance in Multan, we went back to our ordinary ways.

In the very recent past, India’s done the same on many occasions. In Australia just prior to this tour, they followed up a handsome win in Adelaide with a humiliating defeat in Melbourne. Ditto in tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

To start with the toss, it was a daring decision by Rahul Dravid to bat on the wicket carrying the promised grass along with the moisture. Of course, it cannot be only Rahul who should be blamed for this wrong decision. It must have been that of what we call the team management. And I think it was primarily to show that the Indians are in a positive frame of mind.

Nothing wrong in that, except that the top order gave the game away. Had it not been for Yuvraj Singh and that young enthusiastic fighter Irfan Pathan — stitching together that great partnership of 107 — Rahul’s decision would have definitely backfired. What a fightback it was too. India were reeling at 147 for 7 at that stage. And not even India’s staunchest supporter would have wagered on the total they managed to reach.Rahul must have thought his batsmen would repeat their Multan performance and even if they failed (like they did) the bowlers would rise to the occasion. Maybe he didn’t realise that the grass would vanish by the time the Pakistanis came in to bat and his bowlers would be totally helpless.

I also don’t understand why Yuvraj has been branded a one-day specialist. Just three Tests old, he has a half century and now a brilliant century — both played exactly according to the need of the team. Irfan, on the other hand, certainly has the potential to be developed into a good all-rounder. Another thing the team needs desperately.

From the Pakistan point of view, had Shoaib and Sami bowled a better line & length, the picture would have been rosier for Pakistan. Looking at the grass and the moisture in the wicket, they went all out for speed and in the process, lost their control. Gul, however, proved that he has his head screwed on properly and delivered the ball on the right spot all through his spell.