— Photo: PTI

MERA BHARAT MAHAN: That could be the refrain on the lips of every cricket lover, thanks to a very disciplined and emphatic performance by the Men in Blue in the opening two one-dayers.

Mohali : The last few months in Indian cricket have packed in the kind of drama, tragicomedy and horror that scriptwriters would chew through their pen caps for. Spats and leaks, insinuations and manipulation - and the shenanigans of Board politics have not even been touched upon.

So when the board secretary, S.K. Nair, announced on Friday night that the selection committee had decided to stick with the side that played the first two ODIs for the three games to follow, it was the second sign that clear-headed thinking had taken over. The first portents were evident in India's performance.

No room for Ganguly

Sure, Sourav Ganguly — not picked for the first two games because of injury — had proven his fitness with a century in the Duleep Trophy. But whose place could he have taken?

Nagpur and Mohali were theatres of masterly displays by the Men in Blue. That they were abetted by an under-par Sri Lankan side takes little away. No Indian player set a major foot wrong.

Virender Sehwag didn't continue his bursts that promised much. Yuvraj Singh got an iffy decision in the first game and didn't bat in the second. Venugopala Rao, R.P. Singh and Suresh Raina, likely candidates to be shunted around should the powers conspire to recall Ganguly, have not had an opportunity to show their stuff.

Crucially the eleven (twelve actually) clicked as a unit. A winning side can afford to carry a few players who aren't in form, and that's exactly what Sri Lanka has allowed India to become.

Moody's verdict

"We have only lost two games", said Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody. "You wouldn't want to read too much into it. India came out of the blocks great".

What Moody neglected to mention was that it wasn't two games his side had lost but three, including the practice game in Mumbai. A trifle, perhaps? Not really. Momentum is a zero-sum game.

While, as Indian captain Rahul Dravid pointed out, a side needs to "force the play" and grab the initiative, momentum squandered by one is momentum gained by the other.

India so far has pushed hard, with subtlety and stealth. Dravid is often bracketed as a conventional batsman — structured and regimented. The great Sunil Gavaskar once made the point that the two Indian players who could make technical adjustments were Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

These two, said Gavaskar, had strong foundations that afforded great scope for subtle adjustment. Whereas an `eye player' could lose rhythm due to an imbalance and hence lose form, Dravid and Tendulkar could work within their structure to find a solution.

Adroit captaincy

Dravid, the captain, has based his strategy on fundamentals. And just as the most lucid of thoughts emerge from the most basic of premises, the Karnataka man has captained with great adroitness. Dravid has also had the `ninety per cent luck', former Australian captain and champion leg-spinner Richie Benaud believes is needed to go along with `ten percent of skill'.

Suddenly, a side that looked listless and flaccid during most of the ODIs in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe is rippling with energy.

The most striking aspect of the two games in the Videocon Cup series has been the difference in fielding. Sri Lanka, normally a fine fielding side, has been error-prone; India has been sure — steady in the outfield, safe in catching positions, and athletic in the infield.

Good body language

Selection committee chairman Kiran More said as much: "The team has performed outstandingly well. The body language and fielding has been very good".

India has got its balance right and tampering with a winning side, unless there are compelling reasons, is fraught with risk.

The selection of the team was also in line with coach Greg Chappell's view of making changes for the 2007 World Cup now for the team to have a chance — a decision that will cause heartbreak for some. But you know what they say about breaking eggs to make an omelette. Inevitable.

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