Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
S Sreesanth, India’s new belligerent bully, kept looking up with sanguine hopes at the dark clouds hanging precariously above, creating imminent prospects of blurred vision or a sprightly shower, but the weather gods were rudely stubborn. They refused to succumb to his heavenly pleas on Day 5 of the second test between India-South Africa at Durban. Makhaya Ntini , after all, had a job to do!
India typically gave away a vital and hard-earned, almost sublime victory at Johannesburg with a brittle and somewhat cowardly collapse on the last day of the Durban Test, surrendering the absorbing duel by a regrettable 174 runs, despite boasting of the world’s most experienced and redoubtable batting line-up. Frankly, although the series outcome is as yet uncertain, the Indians have themselves to blame for allowing a visibly dispirited and demoralised Proteas back into the leather-hunt. It was inexcusable for a team that was battling failures but had temporarily overwhelmed it’s own private demons by recording a historic win just a week before, and had promised champagne times. Not on! Continue reading below
V Sehwag, of whom I am an inveterate ardent fan, and who is perhaps one of India’s most damaging and destructive match-winners, now needs to do some serious introspection. It was too crucial a game in which he had to perish with such predictable regularity, playing his usual cavalier shots. Although critics are screaming for his head, I would give the stocky Delhi opener one last shot in Cape Town before briefly resting him. Like Irfan Pathan, Sehwag looks a confused man, misguided, unaided and adrift. He could do with kind words of somber encouragement as he faces a grave mid-career crisis.
Wasim Jaffer, flattered to deceive in both innings, and his inability to sustain himself for a longer stay especially after having grounded himself for a not so inconsiderable period, should leave him anxious to work on his otherwise calm temperament. His second-innings slog shot was beyond comprehension, and was silly, sloppy and stupid. .
Rahul Dravid’s failure in both innings, thanks to two dubious umpiring decisions, was unfortunate, because the whole team looks up to him as the principal bulwark. It is hardly surprising therefore that his early departure in successive innings put India in enormous pressure. It showed.
Sachin Tendulkar is an erstwhile great player on a rapid decline downhill, and it is time we stopped expecting magical moments from his heavy-weight bat like we have got accustomed to. Sure, when he plays those magnificent boundaries like he did in his first half-century in 13 innings, he looks the master-craftsman of old, but somewhere the sheen is missing, the shine has faded, the song sounds jaded. And as usual, when India needed him to at least steadily steer India out of danger zone on the last day, he fell for a lame duck, looking like a first-time novice playing his debut game. I think Sachin’s decline, sadly enough, looks perpetually irreversible, albeit I hope I am proved wrong. India needs the old Sachin who inspired fear in bowlers; right now he looks slightly frightened himself.
Sourav Ganguly, after making a striking stirring comeback of the fairy-tale variety at the Wanderer’s, failed to consolidate on the kinetic momentum, which was indeed the need of the hour. Surprising, because Dada has shown us all that he possesses remarkable mental toughness and psychological resilience. In both innings, he looked perceptibly flustered, when he should have made a commanding statement by at least preventing a hasty crumble. India needed to hang in, just play tough customers to dislodge. But when Sourav was trooping back after scoring 26 cheeky runs, the end was nearing at galloping speed.
VVS Laxman played a painstaking stint of 50 in the first knock, which helped India reach a respectable score, although luck deluded him in the subsequent inning. Either way, the elegant Hyderabadi is India’s middle order mainstay with the highest probability of demonstrating endurance when India needs one. But he will need partners.
MS Dhoni’s determined efforts in both innings was laudable, and epitomized the gritty credentials of the Jadoo from Jharkhand. Alas, his resolute efforts went in vain, but Dhoni revealed that he is not just a maverick swashbuckler, but can intelligently pace his innings given the circumstances. The star is shining bright.
Sreesanth, who seems to be inspired by Andrew Nel’s constant chatter, was once again South Africa’s nemesis, ably supported by the penetrative Zaheer Khan and the indefatigable Anil Kumble. What India forgot was that to win, you need to both bowl well and bat solidly. Surely, scores of 240 and 179 will not win too many Test matches.
But again, Cape Town is another Test match, so let us not write off the Men in Blue with the usual short-sighted dispatch. And if India can quickly bury their suicidal hara-kiri propensities and look Nel in the eye instead of awaiting godly charity from the skies, who knows, we could be in for an unprecedented series win. As Johannesburg showed, they can do it. It’s possible! And that would be the ideal way to begin a new year campaign in which cricket will find a world champion in the Caribbean islands on April 28th 2007. From now on, every game is as much tactical, as it is strategic or mental. The count-down has clearly begun.
Happy New Year to your family and yourself, and hope you have a year of great joys, wonderful health, soaring spirits, and long hours of tranquil sleep.
See you at Cape Town!
