Wanted: An Indian batsman who can bat

In New Zealand, the wickets were difficult to bat on. Agreed. But yesterday, the Indian batsmen had no one but themselves to blame for their pathetic display. There weren’t the Marshalls and the Holdings of the world sending down thunderbolts, but an innocuous Dutch attack, which could be rated as just about average.

Just the other day, there were two great performances, one by Brian Lara and another by Andrew Symonds. If India has to make a mark in this competition, somebody from one to seven will have to dish out a similar performance to lift the spirits of the others in the team.

I have a feeling that the team hasn’t yet recovered from their debacle in New Zealand. It’s high time they shrugged off that defeat and the seniors in the team will have to show the others the way, like Lara did.

The batsmen must remember the fact that when they are in the middle, the others who follow them watch them bat from the pavilion, and their confidence grows or dips while they do. So, unless somebody plays a great innings, the others are bound to grope in the dark.

Changing of the batting order also could destabilise the momentum. For, if the batting line-up is set, a batsman knows what role he is expected to play and how he should approach it.

A player gets confused if his batting order is changed and unless he spends more time in the middle, he takes time to settle down mentally at that particular number. Being tentative about the batting order, I am afraid, doesn’t speak highly of the think-tank.

Poor Sehwag! He must be wondering what he did wrong on the recent trip to New Zealand. In fact he was the only century-maker (he scored two) on the trip. The result? He was shunted down the order. By doing so, the think-tank once again played favourites as if to suggest that there are some who are more equal than others. Very wrong, but sadly very true.