The Hindu : Sport : Batting failures by the stalwarts make for dismal viewing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

Batting failures by the stalwarts make for dismal viewing

Nandita Sridhar

The batsmen were strategically sorted out

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

AT EASE WHILE BATTING: Unencumbered by any expectations, Irfan Pathan, seen here at a practice session with Sourav Ganguly and Mohd. Kaif, prospered in the second Test while his more illustrious colleagues failed to make a mark.

Ahmedabad: India’s batsmen have the style, the substance, the ability and the intent, which makes it rather painful when it all deserts them. As one saw in the second Test, it makes for dismal viewing. The batting psyche has been questioned, not without reason, but not in all fairness either.

Indian batsmen are rhythm-driven, with the reliance on momentum giving them the need to play the shots they do. It isn’t much of a surprise that the side can combust for 76, as much as it can surmount the greatest of challenges. When denied the momentum, either through restrictive or strategic bowling, or a lack of self confidence, the struggle becomes apparent.

It is this very approach that has lent itself in scripting epics. Not many batting sides could have done what V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid did in Kolkata in 2001. It required crease occupation backed by runs.

The wherewithal

In this side, Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have the wherewithal to compartmentalise their batting approach based on the situation, but the rest do not. The batsmen’s decision to go through with a particular shot has a bearing on the next. Momentum is built. Bowlers are most likely forced into errors while searching for success.

Exceptions are called upon when the batsman’s place in the side is under scrutiny, as one saw with Virender Sehwag at Adelaide and Sourav Ganguly in the second innings of the Ahmedabad Test. The drudgery of defence is called upon for self-preservation.

A combination of factors worked against India in Ahmedabad. The batsmen were strategically sorted out, and responded with disappointing shot-selection. The South Africans, who’d read the conditions better and who had the bowlers to back them, were clear in their approach. Threats of short-pitched deliveries had reached the Indian camp, but the visitors launched a varied attack.

Sustained efforts

Dale Steyn’s five wickets in the Indian first innings were acquired through means of sustained efforts. “When you get a wicket like this if you don’t bowl full you’re not going to find the edge of the bat so you’ve got to make decisions as to exactly where you’re going to bowl. Bowling short and taking the batsmen’s feet away is one thing, but it’s the follow-up ball that always gets you a wicket,” said Steyn.

“I think from reading in the papers they weren’t going to come forward before the ball was bowled so maybe that helped us. Then we were able to bowl good-length balls. The ball hit the stumps a lot and there were a lot of inside-edges because nobody was really committed on the front foot.

“Anything that was short, they kind of got away from it, and it looked like they played it relatively well. It was the full ball that got wickets,” he said.

This does not suggest that India flounders on such tracks when offered such a length. The concerns about the wicket led them doubt its disposition. None of the frontline batsmen looked convincing. Sehwag carried false complacency in the first innings, and appeared too wound-up by the situation in the second.

Unplayable

Wasim Jaffer was all strokes and little substance. Dravid was taken out by an unplayable delivery in the first and one nearly as tough in the second, while Laxman paid the price for misreading the bounce.

Ganguly and M.S. Dhoni made up for blameworthy shots in the first innings, with more caution in the second.

The exception was Irfan Pathan, who looked at ease in both his brief innings. Not weighed down by expectations and the wicket, he prospered.

The batsmen will need to put the performance behind them, before the final Test at Kanpur. Two spare days before the scheduled departure to Kanpur offered time for introspection and specific requirements to look into, at practice.

Kumble misses practice

The team cancelled its practice session scheduled for Sunday, and instead had a lengthy session at the Motera on Monday. Captain Anil Kumble and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were not part of the session. Munaf Patel took part, and was closely monitored by coach Gary Kirsten.

Batting, as expected, was under focus. The team practiced on the wicket that was used for the match, bringing it to focus yet again.

The Indians will no doubt, hit back. Their batting can be a sight for the Gods, but it’s the nature of sport that makes one look to results for reinforcement.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport