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India trumps England

The convincing series win in England has put paid to loose talk in cricketing circles that Indian Test teams fare well only on home soil. The perception, which grew in strength during the period 1987-2000 when India failed to win a Test outside the subcontinent, has been re-addressed incrementally in the new millennium. Actually, since 2000 the national side has notched up wins in every Test-playing country except New Zealand. In fact, 16 of India’s 29 Test wins abro ad have come since 2000. In the process, it has built a success rate overseas that has been surpassed only by Australia. The accomplished performance in England means that India has been able to take the next, crucial step. The team used to struggle with consistency, often following a stirring win with an abject loss. This failing stemmed from being easily satisfied, celebrating prematurely, and frittering away hard-earned momentum. The lessons have evidently been learnt. Not once after rain saved it in the first Test at Lord’s did the Indian team let up in intensity. The win at Trent Bridge was every bit as heart-warming as the triumph at Leeds in 2002: in both cases India out-thought, out-played, and out-fought England in typical English conditions, where the ball swung all day. At the Oval, India’s batsmen put the match beyond the host, driving England remorselessly to a point of no return and handing Michael Vaughan his first home series defeat as captain.

The most instructive aspect of this famous series victory is this: it is based not as much on its ageing batsmen and spinner, India’s traditional strengths, as on its young fast-medium swing bowlers. Interestingly, India’s only century in three Tests came not from the illustrious bats of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, or Sourav Ganguly, but from the modest blade of leg-spinner Anil Kumble — who emerged, without any hype, from this series as Test cricket’s third-highest wicket-taker. Zaheer Khan and R.P. Singh turned on the finest, most versatile display of left-arm swing bowling seen in England since the days of the great Wasim Akram. Sreesanth’s waywardness went beyond line and length but his role in building pressure at crucial junctures was recognised by grateful team-mates. Openers Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik and wicketkeeper M. S. Dhoni surpassed all expectations, adapting with skill and character to conditions they had rarely experienced before. The old guard of Kumble, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, and Laxman could not have scripted their farewell to the English public much better: each gave glimpses of his best, revealing commitment and undimmed desire. Dravid has become the second Indian captain — after Ajit Wadekar in 1971 — to win Test series in the West Indies and England. And let’s not forget the solid work done in the background by the low-profile and wholly Indian team of Chandu Borde, Venkatesh Prasad, and Robin Singh. The moment was truly uplifting for Indian cricket.

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