The Hindu : Sport : Consistency is the key

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 08, 2006

Sport

Sport

Consistency is the key

Commitment has to be sustained right through five days , writes Vivian Richards

The Antigua Recreation Ground has been the scene of many historic moments in West Indian cricket, and it was only fitting that the final day of cricket played on that ground was gripping till the last ball. It's a tremendous honour for me to have a new ground named after me, but I will always have fond memories of the ARG.

The Test was fascinating, but at the end of the day both sides will have a bit of thinking to do. For Brian Lara, the fact that they were fighting to save the match after having a first innings lead of 130 runs is truly worrying. This is not the first time that the hosts have frittered away an advantage, and one thought things were turning around after the one-dayers. Old habits die hard, and perhaps the team management will have to work on keeping the levels of commitment high right through the game. There were flashes of that commitment in the first two days and in the final day, but it has to be sustained right through five days if West Indies want to win Test matches.

Disastrous start

For Rahul Dravid, the start of the Test was pretty disastrous, and perhaps in the last session he did miss an experienced bowler who could have assisted Anil Kumble. However, the Indians came really close to winning the Test, something that seemed impossible after the first two days. The turnaround that the visitors affected proved that their high-profile batting line-up does have a lot of class.

The biggest gain must be the double century by Wasim Jaffer. He had looked promising in the last tour to the West Indies, but did not get too many. This time round he played a potentially match-winning knock and while he was at the crease he never looked in trouble. Another player who impressed me was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who seemed to be thinking even while he was totally in the attack mode. I would not want to dwell on the long-drawn out drama that ended his innings because I still am not clear about what exactly transpired between the umpires, Lara and the batsmen.

Sehwag lacked application

Once again, I was a little disappointed in Virender Sehwag's lack of application. He looked so good while he was in, that even the West Indian supporters felt a little let down when he threw it away both times. In this respect, I thought Chris Gayle played an extremely restrained knock. True, he was looking awkward, but he stuck to his gameplan of playing out time.

As far as the Indian bowlers were concerned, the lack of experience was not too much of a factor because all the three pacemen seemed to have learnt quickly from their errors in the first innings. What eventually went against the Indians was the middle session of the fifth day. The rub of the green went the hosts' way, with a catch going down and Gayle having a close shave.

In the final analysis, India will go into the next Test with their confidence restored. They know that despite starting poorly they ended the Test on a near-triumphant note. The hosts will need to find a little consistency if they want to keep the Indians at bay, and they will have to find it quickly.

(Gameplan)

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