Go back to basics, Parthiv

Apart from the medium pacers, Ajit Agarkar, Balaji and Irfan who bowled superbly, the others will have to better their performance against a much tougher opposition. However, one heartening feature was that India’s fielding was outstanding once again with Laxman grabbing a couple of blinders.

It was a fantastic recovery by the Indian batsmen who managed to post a total that looked impossible to reach after they had lost three wickets for next to nothing on the board.

The duo of Laxman and Dravid, as they have been doing quite regularly on this tour, once again dug themselves in and played stellar roles to pull India out of the woods after some poor shots executed at the beginning of the innings by the likes of Bangar, Parthiv and the skipper himself.

As things stand today, Parthiv might have played his last match of the tour and if he plays again on this tour, he should consider himself lucky. He will have to go back to the nets and iron out the deficiencies that have cropped up in his technique, both as a batsman and wicketkeeper.

Compared to Parthiv, Rohan Gavaskar, on his part, showed that playing for years in first class cricket before getting into the big league has its advantages, for he looked more mature, hungry for success, and extremely focused. He was fortunate somewhat, for he got to play a lot many overs, despite the fact that he came in at No. 6. To his credit, he grabbed the opportunity by batting sensibly to start with, and then blossomed in the company of Laxman who is having a dream run with the bat.

Rohan ran well between the wickets and showed superb temperament. He is an excellent fielder too. His presence in the team will sure keep the other batsmen on their toes, which is a good sign.