Disappointing end to a great campaign

I do not think Ganguly was wrong to put the Australians in after winning the toss. The pitch had a bit of moisture, there was cloud cover and India had the bowlers who could utilise these conditions. It was just that they all had a terrible off day, a day on which the very first over set the disappointing pattern for things to come.

Zaheer Khan started with a no-ball and, in a nightmare first over, bowled a plethora of no-balls and wides conceding 15 runs. That control, once taken by the Australian openers, was never relinquished. Srinath too was short of the mark and although Nehra and Harbhajan bowled with greater control, the run rate was so high that even the fall of two Australian wickets in quick succession did not put any real pressure on them.

Indeed, by the time they had reached 200, it was clear that they were going to notch up well in excess of 325 and the game had been won and lost. When the Indian bowlers managed to pitch the ball in the right spots, they got movement both in the air and off the wicket. On such occasions they did beat the bat but the secret is that you have to hit these spots regularly so that the chances of getting an edge are suitably enhanced.

India’s bowlers just did not do that. It was perhaps their most disappointing performance of the tournament and it is a great pity that it had to come in this most crucial of all games. It was a combination of the event getting to them and in some cases, like that of Zaheer, trying too hard and striving for that extra yard of pace forgetting that it is not much use without line and length.

In a manner of speaking, the Indian seamers made the same mistakes as the Pakistani seamers had done throughout the tournament, of trying to blast the opposition out. At this level, the game requires more subtlety than that.

The Indian batsmen made a spirited effort at a target that was almost unachievable. They knew that the one way to get there was for Sachin to play the innings of his life and he went for it from the word go. Notwithstanding his great talents, perhaps even he gave himself far too much to do. If he had been able to play himself in and then gone for his shots, maybe the contest would have been closer; but his departure in the first over with only four runs on the board virtually sealed it for Australia.

It is not easy to bat a side like India out of the game, but the Australians did just that. They were superbly led from the front by Ponting, who pulverised the Indian attack in a truly outstanding innings. Australia’s batting performances in this tournament had been rather lop-sided as the top order had seldom delivered with the middle and lower order, not having too many big names, coming to the rescue.

That also must have been one of the considerations why Ganguly decided to bowl first for he must have felt, like a lot of us, that the upper half of the order was vulnerable and there must be a limit to the number of times the lower order could stage a rescue.

But this time around, the middle and lower order just sat in the dressing room and watched the blitz. There was an element of luck in the Australian batting for, time and again, lofted uncontrolled shots fell into no man’s land, but the basic reason why they could put up such a mammoth score was not luck; it was that they batted brilliantly while the Indians bowled poorly.

It was a disappointing end to an excellent World Cup campaign, the greatest plus point to emerge from it being the discovery of a fine seam attack. It would appear to be desirable for Srinath to perhaps stay on for another year, for Zaheer and Nehra would need his presence and advice for their proper grooming; having a bowling coach is not even nearly the same thing.

India’s batting has the perfect blend of youth and experience and the youth has to be persevered with to give it the necessary confidence. The basics are all there and just need a little more fine tuning and that is the attitude with which Indian cricket should move forward.

India came into this tournament on the back of a disastrous series in New Zealand and a home defeat against the West Indies and, judged against that background, this performance is something even the most incurable of optimists would not have dreamt of.

Losing in a World Cup final, as I repeatedly said in 1999, is no shame. But if taken as one for political reasons, the results can be very negative. The example of Pakistan is there before us.

(The writer is the former captain of Kent and Pakistan)