Opinion A win in time

It’s not as if India haven’t run into weak teams before but not often have they been this ruthless

When C.K. Nayudu, India’s first cricketing superstar, whipcracked an English attack of MCC to pave the way for it earning Test status in 1932, little would he have anticipated that it would take 85 more years for India to achieve its first whitewash in an away series. When the feat was eventually achieved in Sri Lanka by Virat Kohli’s men, the celebrations were muted as Sri Lanka had caved in easily. Still, the triumph in a one-sided series is a testament to how far India have progressed in recent decades. It’s no longer a surprise when this team does well.

It’s not as if India haven’t run into weak teams before but not often have they been this ruthless. Things fell in place rather nicely, and the entire machinery clicked well together. The absence of India’s best Test opener in recent times, M. Vijay, was not felt as Shikhar Dhawan stepped up in style. The fact that Ishant Sharma didn’t get to play a single Test match — in fact it won’t be a surprise if he has to wait out for a while to get a look-in — said much about how well the fast-bowling unit has marched ahead. It also felt like perfect retribution that India, who have suffered at the hands of mystery spinners and mysterious slingers from the island nation in the past, even managed to produce a Chinaman spinner of their own in Kuldeep Yadav to apply the finishing touches to the rout.

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Facile sporting wins such as this one are often not taken seriously — and for perfectly valid reasons. But this triumph in Sri Lanka came at the right time for this young Indian team. It needed something like this to bounce back from the chaos triggered by the exit of Anil Kumble from the coaching set-up in controversial circumstances. The team needed some cruise time to feel good again. The win has also allowed Ravi Shastri and his men to gently ease back in, for the tougher assignments that lie ahead.