Good Judgment | Vivek Atray
A champion side has to display, more than anything else, a sense of pride and commitment to the cause of winning. Team India has not been able to do that on the tour to England and has ended up losing the Test series 4-0 as also the one off T-20 match.
Having lost the number 1 Test ranking to a sprightly and determined English team will rankle for some time, though India might find the resolve and the talent to emerge as numero-uno once again before the year ends. Continue reading below
However, the one-day series that commences on Saturday gives India the chance to stem the rot and pay back the compliment to their rivals in no uncertain terms.
A side which won the World Cup so spectacularly just months ago has looked defeated and jaded in the last few weeks and it will have to pull up its socks in no uncertain terms very soon now.
With such riches as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and himself at his command, MS Dhoni has enough fire power to avenge the loss of the Test series by winning the ODI contest comprehensively. Even though formidable players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir are missing through injury, India's batting has enough skill and experience to deliver the goods.
The bowling would worry him though, for apart from Praveen Kumar and perhaps R Ashwin, none of his bowlers can be trusted to bowl consistently well in five consecutive 50-over matches. Munaf Patel and RP Singh might prove to be successful once the battle begins, but as of now they do not inspire much confidence.
The fielding has been bolstered significantly with the arrival of Sharma and Kohli. In the limited-overs version of the game, India would need athletic running between the wickets and quick-silver fielding to ensure that they have the edge over England. The Englishmen look fitter than their Indian counterparts and with some fresh legs set to join them, they would dive around all over the place to keep the pressure on India. The Indians would thus have to be on song in this aspect of the game as in the others.
The deciding factor of the ODI series would, however, be whether Dhoni's team plays with a certain amount of pizzaz and gusto or not. If they display even a part of the fervour that they did to lift the all important World Cup, they are likely to get the better of England in this format.
If they need inspiration, they need only to look towards two men who are over 38 years old and who are the highest run-getters in international cricket's history.
Tendulkar and Dravid, as ever, would not give anything less than their very best in the upcoming series. The others simply need to follow suit.
