Monday, Jan 06, 2003
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Cricket
By S. Dinakar
OH HEAVENS! HALT THE HUMILIATION: Indian captain Sourav Ganguly may well be invoking the divine intervention to save him and his team from the travails suffered in the land of the Kiwis. Nothing has gone right so far for him as a batsman on the tour, and worse, India lost both the Tests and all the four one-dayers to date. — Photo: N. Balaji
An entire nation, that was celebrating the stirring success of a rejuvenated Indian cricket team only months ago, is now shocked at the miserable run of the Sourav Ganguly's men in New Zealand. They have played without much passion, losing the battle of the mind, and being swept away by the Kiwis. With the World Cup only a handful of days away, the earlier brightness has given way to much darkness, and there is that unmistakable feeling of déjà vu. Not long back, Ganguly was one of the most happening skippers in Indian cricket, leading a side that believed in itself, now he heads an outfit without character that has forgotten what prides means on a cricket field. When you wear the India cap, you carry with it certain responsibility. After all, there are millions back home, who are praying for your success. The least you can do is put up some fight, some resistance, make the opposition earn its victory. Scores of 108, 219, 108, and 122 and dismissals inside fifty overs on all the occasions in the first four games of the ODI current series suggest that the Indian batsmen have not just disappointed, but turned in a display where commitment has been the biggest casualty. ``I am sorry,'' said Ganguly in an informal chat with the media, after India capitulated yet again in Queenstown. He must be wondering at the disastrous turn of events in New Zealand, where the reputation of the `finest batting line-up in the world' has taken a severe beating. The batsmen, with the exception of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in the Test series and Virender Sehwag in the Napier ODI, have come up woefully short and, when the skipper was needed to show guts and courage out there in the middle, he hardly displayed the heart for the battle. It is true that the other `Big Guns' have not been among the runs in the ODI series, yet as skipper, it becomes so important for Ganguly to lift his side when the chips are down, and it is here that a skipper has to make a statement "We are not going to surrender". The Indians have the glorious example of Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup, where the versatile all-rounder fuelled the Indians to a sensational triumph and his unbeaten and unbelievable 175 against Zimbabwe inspiring the side from the depths of despair to the height of glory. Ganguly is no Kapil Dev, but, he can at least produce a determined half-century, putting a price on his wicket. In a similar situation, you can expect an Allan Border to do just that, or bet your life on a Steve Waugh delivering big. Instead, we see the Indian captain, with the team in trouble in a `do or die' situation, contriving to slash a short ball down third man's throat, and walking back with his head down. It was a sad, sad sight. On the field, he has still rung in the changes, looked the part as the skipper, but then, in times of need, the captain also has to make runs, especially if he is in the side as a specialist batsman. And the left-hander's scores have been 17 & 2 and 5 & 5 in the Wellington and Hamilton Tests and 14, 0, 4 & 2 in the first fours ODIs. Surely, the captain can offer more resistance, for he has the job of rallying his men around him. On this tour, the streak of aggression, that set him apart from the rest, has been missing in Ganguly and the team has appeared `flat' In the present scenario, it becomes so important for Ganguly to open the innings, since it is at the top of the order that he has made his name as a one-day batsman, launching into the attacks in that effortless style of his. He has to attempt to do the same on pitches that have some juice in them for the pacemen. Taking shelter in the middle-order can send a very wrong message — that he's lost his confidence — to the side during difficult times like these. It's simple — the skipper has to lead from the front, in this case, from the top of the order. At the same time, the `Get Ganguly' campaigns can wait, at least, until the World Cup is over. Despite the recent reverses, he possesses a fair record as skipper and there is a tendency in this country to over-react, the captain often becoming the fall guy. However, Ganguly the batsman, deserves flak for his attitude and approach — he is still reaching out for deliveries outside the off-stump, the use of the feet is minimal and is falling time and again in the cordon. Disastrous tactics on seaming pitches. Sourav Ganguly has to pick up the pieces. There still is time.
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