Indians should not forget the nightmare

The Indians appeared to have mentally resigned themselves to defeat even before Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar walked out to start India’s reply to Sri Lanka’s 299 for five. Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya’s blazing 189 appeared to have benumbed them, although the Indians have successfully chased scores of over 300 in the past.

What else can explain the irresponsible shot from Ganguly that started the slide? Nor would Tendulkar forgive himself for the way he got out.

In a little over 100 minutes, in just 26.3 overs in which India was bundled out for a mere 54, all the good work at the preceding mini-World Cup at Nairobi was undone. Why?

Two key players – Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble – were injured, coach Anshuman Gaekwad’s authority was undermined by constant reports of hiring a foreign coach to replace him, and the team showed lack of commitment to its own cause of winning and regaining the credibility which got dented due to various reasons.

Dravid and Kumble were there in Nairobi but at Sharjah both had injury problems.

While the stylish batsman from Karnataka who performed well to score 85 as a makeshift opener, missed the last two matches against Sri Lanka due to a dislocated ring finger, a sore shoulder kept ace leg spinner Kumble out of the team for as many as four matches.

Their return to the team before the one-off Test against debutants Bangladesh at Dhaka early next month is doubtful.

Injuries are part of the game but work ethics is something that comes from within an individual. And it was on this front that the Indian team left a lot to be desired.

Instead of going straight to Sharjah from Nairobi to give the right signal that it meant business, the team made an unnecessary detour to Mumbai and thereby lost three important days of getting used to the weather and ground conditions there.

Though not handicapped by back-to-back matches like the unfortunate Zimbabweans were, the Indians went about their nets in a haphazard way. The seniors, particularly Ganguly himself, did not set the right example to the juniors by not being regular at net sessions.

Gaekwad being temporarily in charge, a fact dinned into his ears day in and day out by the media and Board officials themselves, failed to assert his authority on the team or, at times, allowed matters to drift.

Often, even the level of communication between skipper Ganguly and coach Gaekwad appeared to be low.

There were little slip-ups in almost every match which suggested a strong word, if not accountability, was not quite conveyed to the team members.

There were two uncalled for run-outs in the final against New Zealand at Nairobi and in one of the matches here Dravid made the elementary mistake of not grounding his bat in the crease.

The highly-talented Yuvraj Singh was asked to play his natural game by skipper Ganguly but what one witnessed was a license to get away with the same mistake time and again. He perished twice to Muthiah Muralitharan and in the final last night, lofted a catch straight to mid-on when better application with the head over the ball was required.

Kumble’s shoulder injury was also in news and while everyone wants him back in the team as early as possible, one wishes the issue was handled in a better manner.

If the leggie was indeed suffering from the injury for two to three months, as physio Andrew Leipus said in a press note, then one is not sure whether the team management knew about it in Nairobi and, if they did, whether it was advisable to bring him here.

Despite Ganguly’s avowed aim to carry everyone in the team with him and make them all feel part of one big family, the youngsters, who brought a whiff of fresh air with them, appeared to be at a loss when there was no match or nets.

The skipper who himself had to overcome many a hurdle as a newcomer would, could do well to get the likes of Sriram, Badani and Kaif more and more involved in team activities.