Dasgupta must be replaced with Ratra
Events in the first Test, which the Indians managed todraw after being in danger of following on, have driven home somepoints which the team management would do well to ponder over
Partab Ramchand16-Apr-2002
Events in the first Test, which the Indians managed todraw after being in danger of following on, have driven home somepoints which the team management would do well to ponder over. One isthat Deep Dasgupta has no place in the side. I have said this beforebut the selectors’ baffling policy of continuing to pick him forces meto repeat myself. Dasgupta is lucky to even be in the squad and it istime he is given the status of a tourist.
The first inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the first Testbetween India and the West Indies is that the series is a contestbetween two mediocre, evenly matched sides, fairly strong in battingbut short in bowling. One serious mistake by either team could wellcost them the series. The first Test at Guyana offered shades of thelast rubber in the Caribbean five years ago and more particularly ofBridgetown where one shocking batting collapse – three hours ofmadness as it was rightly called – cost India the series.Bourda in Georgetown with its inclement weather and batting friendlypitches is not exactly representative of cricketing conditions in theWest Indies. And that is one thing the Indians would do well toremember. The fact that all six matches between the two countriesplayed at this venue over half a century have ended in draws goesagainst the overall record of the Indians in the Caribbean whichboasts of only two victories against 14 losses.It is the faster and bouncier pitches as Bridgetown, Kingston andAntigua that have time and again proved to be the bane of Indian teamsin the past and the encounters at these venues are still ahead. Thecrumb of comfort for the visitors is that at Port of Spain, the venueof the second Test, they have given as good as they have got,registering their only two victories in the West Indies.Events in the first Test, which the Indians managed to draw afterbeing in danger of following on, have driven home some points whichthe team management would do well to ponder over. One is that DeepDasgupta has no place in the side. I have said this before but theselectors’ baffling policy of continuing to pick him forces me torepeat myself. Dasgupta is lucky to even be in the squad and it istime he is given the status of a tourist.Ajay Ratra has waited long enough for his Test cap and he should notbe asked to wait any longer. Sanjay Bangar, an opening bat for RanjiTrophy champions Railways, should be asked to go in first with ShivSundar Das, who proved that while he is not a commanding type ofbatsman, he still remains one whose wicket has to be prised out.The mindless shuffling of Rahul Dravid in the batting order shouldstop forthwith. The gallant warrior has been treated like a yo-yo fortoo long and the No 3 slot should be his by right from now on. WithSachin Tendulkar and Venkatsai Laxman to follow, Sourav Ganguly shouldbe demoted to No 6, at least till he gains in confidence and till hisbatting average starts climbing up to the mid-forties again.Ratra should come in at No 7 and this brings us nicely to the bowlingthat posed the bigger problem at Georgetown. Queries are bound to beraised when the opposition is allowed to recover from 44 for three toa total of 501. Javagal Srinath was a shade fortunate in getting thosethree wickets in his opening spell but there is no doubt that he is askilled bowler who makes the most of his vast experience. On theevidence of the first Test, is Zaheer Khan though the right partnerfor him? The answer must be in the negative and fortunately there is aready replacement in Ashish Nehra.The spin bowling, traditionally Indian cricket’s strength, was thecause of a bigger worry. That there is a day-and-night differencebetween the home and away record of Anil Kumble is painfully wellknown. But even going by this record, that has him averaging a littleover 21 at home and around 40 away, the bowling of this experiencedcampaigner was a major disappointment. It is amazing how the country’sNo 1 strike bowler in the last decade with over 300 wickets in the bagis not able to improve on his record abroad. But he keeps his place onreputation if not on form and it can only he hoped that the return ofHarbhjan Singh will inspire Kumble to bowl better.The off-spinner will have, no doubt, recovered from the injury thatkept him out of the first Test and he should take the place ofSarandeep Singh, who seemed quite overawed at being thrust all toosuddenly into the thick of the action, though it must be said that hisbatting came as an unexpected bonus. Unfortunately, Sarandeep’sprimary role is that of a bowler and not that of a batsman.The home team too could not have been totally satisfied with theshowing at Bourda. The batting obviously hinges too much on BrianLara, Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with Ramnaresh Sarwandisplaying the promise of a couple of valuable knocks. For them too,the main worry is the bowling, but then it was always on the cardsthat their current pace trio would find it tough to bowl out theformidable Indian batting line up even once, let alone twice.There were spells when Adam Sanford, Mervyn Dillon and Cameron Cuffywere hostile or when Nagamatoo needed watching. But this is not aquartet that the Indian batsmen would worry too much about. That said,of course, the bowlers were not helped by Hooper’s overcautiousapproach that was quite puzzling given the fact that he had a total of501 behind him.Speaking of defensive tactics, Ganguly too was guilty of this. Thecaptains adopting a 7-2 or 8-1 off side field ruined the game as aspectacle. If there was need for legislation to curb such restrictiveor negative fields on the leg side, should there not be similar actiontaken to come down on such obnoxious tactics in the ostensible nameof strategy – on the other side of the field?