|
|
|
|
|
India must overcome limited-overs mindset
Yes, the next Test is at the Sydney Cricket Ground where India’s batting has usually flourished and its spinners have got some turn, but it is the manner of the dismissals that does not give scope for much optimism. It would be interesting to see how all those who criticised the authorities for not sending the team early to England will react now that the team went almost two weeks before the first Test and also played two warm-up games against quality sides. Fact is if acclimatisation was the only issue then shouldn’t India have done well from the second Test in England? OK, shouldn’t they have done well in the third Test then? And shouldn’t they have won the one-day series since they were in England for two months by then, and should have got used to the pitches and the weather? It does not matter how much time one spends in another country. What matters is not the physical adjustment, but the mental one and this has been Indian cricket's drawback from time immemorial. Sure, there will be some players who do that but if the majority in the team do not do it then defeat is just round the corner. It is not only the batsmen who have to make that change in approach, but also the bowlers. India plays so much one-day cricket that bowers become defensive and are looking to stop runs rather than take wickets and batsmen are looking to attack even deliveries that they shouldn’t. They get away in limited-overs cricket because the white ball doesn’t seam and move as much as the red ball does and the fielders are in run-saving and not catching positions, so all the edges which would otherwise be gobbled up by the slips in Test cricket go safely through those areas left vacant in limited-overs. Leaving ‘unscorable’ deliveries alone is vital in Test cricket which is a five day format, but a batsman cannot afford to leave too many in limited-overs cricket. This is the reason they are playing at deliveries outside the off-stump reaching for them. It is here that the mind has to sort itself out, but as has been seen in testing conditions in England the bat gets drawn to the ball by habit and in Test cricket it is injurious to health.Bowlers too would rather be cut and pulled than be driven because there is the dread of being hit over the top. It is when a bowler gets the batsman committed to the front foot that he is unable to change his shot. Look at the fall of the wickets in the entire Test and it is batsmen getting out to fuller length deliveries. So is all lost then for India? It will all depend on how quickly they realise that they are playing Test cricket and not limited-overs cricket. — PMG
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
The capitulation was sad to see. A team that went Down Under with hopes of winning a series for the first time being swept away by pace and bounce was a sorry sight. Even sorrier was the feeling that this might just be the first of the losses in the series. Make no mistake, if on a pitch where the ball came on to the bat nicely and with an even bounce getting dismissed for under 300, then on pitches with a bit more in them, how will they cope? Remember in England too India with this formidable batting, at least on paper, were unable to get to 300 till the last innings of the Test series and unless someone plays an outstanding knock and has some company, the Indians could struggle to get to 300 in Australia too.
