The Hindu : Sport : Outstanding individual feats have been the highlights

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

Sport

Sport

Outstanding individual feats have been the highlights

The Indian team ended the calendar year with a thumping win against Bangladesh with the top order batsmen making mincemeat of the inexperienced attack. It has been an eventful year for the Indians, starting off with the Sydney Test where Steve Waugh denied them success by playing a superlative knock in his last test.

The superb performances in Australia triggered off huge expectations and the Indians lived upto them by winning the series in Pakistan, thereby breaking the jinx away from home. The first quarter of the year was the golden period for the Indians when it seemed that neither the individuals nor the team could do anything wrong.

A long break after the Pakistan tour gave the players enough time to rest and also savour their deeds. It also enabled the senior players to get over any misgivings that may have prevailed over certain matters. The second half of the year was loaded with cricket and after the fantastic start to the year, the Indians were expected to waltz away with the trophies. Unfortunately, a combination of poor batting form and injuries saw the Indians plummet with each passing game.

Off the boil

Starting from the Asia Cup in July the Indians somehow were off the boil with the batsmen failing to click collectively. The batting woes continued all the way through to the ICC trophy in September. There were odd contributions from one or two batsmen, but as a unit the Indians could not put up enough runs on the board.

The poor form continued to plague the Indians in the Test series against Australia as well and though the margin of defeat was not huge, the difference between the two sides was immense. The batting form returned gradually against the depleted South Africans and continued to improve enough to pulverise the Bangladeshis. The rankings of different agencies will have their own stories to tell, but it has to be accepted that for a team kicking off the year in the fashion it did, it flattered to deceive. But, some outstanding individual feats have been the highlights of the year.

Sehwag led the way in Pakistan with a breathtaking triple century and in fact he has proved to be a more than reliable opener by notching up big hundreds in almost every Test series. The Delhi dasher has proved his critics wrong by vehemently sticking to the methods of batting he knows best. Dravid has been in the thick of things as usual by getting huge scores apart from filling in for Ganguly as captain.

Personal landmarks

The two great contributors to Indian cricket — Tendulkar and Kumble — achieved their personal milestones. Though the events of the year gone by will have several diverse viewpoints, one thing that will be agreed unanimously is the emergence of Pathan as the cricketer for the future. The Baroda youngster has impressed one and all with his incisive bowling and his consistency. He has also shown that he is no rabbit with the bat and has all the qualities to be a genuine all-rounder. He can end the decade long search for an all-rounder provided he is encouraged well enough. The talent is available and it remains to be seen what the team management does with it.

In a nutshell, looking back on the events that happened in 2004, the one word that comes to mind is curious. The Indians will have enough time to work on their game, as the home series against Pakistan is a few weeks away. The ongoing domestic season will provide the players a platform to iron out any flaws.

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