Looks like it will be extremely difficult at the end of the current India-Australia series to choose India’s worst performance in recent times . India’s recent English debacle and the current mauling being received from the Aussies will certainly be the forerunners though. BCCI and Dhoni got away with the England fiasco citing injuries to key players, absence of Zaheer Khan and lack of sufficient warm-up games. But the current tour downunder is not facing any of these problems and inspite of their early arrival in Australia and the two warm up games played before the Test series began, India are still on the same boat. God only knows what excuse will the team management come up with this time.

It is pathetic to note India’s story has been one step forward and two backward in the recent past. Inspite of reaching great heights in the first decade of the millennium, the 2011 performance and standard have gone back to the 1990’s in the Test arena. Traditionally, India had been a team which mostly thrived on it’s batting.

In other words, the bowlers mostly took shelter under their batsmen’s heroics. Like true colours coming out, the Indian bowlers and the team got thoroughly exposed when their famed batting line-up caved in against the English attack. If batsmen let their bowlers down by not putting up big totals in the last 18 innings, the openers are also to be blamed equally for exposing the middle order quite early in almost all these innings.

Considered one of the best opening pairs around in international cricket, it is a shame neither of Sehwag or Gambhir have managed to score a Test century during 2011. If batting has been a headache, bowling has proved the heartache for India in the recent past. Out of the 9 Tests India played abroad in the last 12 months, the Indian bowlers were generous to let the opposition, especially their tail-enders off the hook on atleast 7 occasions after running through their top 6 or 7 batsmen.

In Test cricket, batsmen can only set up a win, but it is always the bowlers who can win a match for their team by taking 20 wickets. The above are problems which normally let down a team and it’s captain. But in India’s case, the captain himself has contributed in his own little way for the team’s downfall. Dhoni’s dismal batting record overseas is well known and he has been quite consistent in that sans the unbeaten 50 he scored in the 1st innings of the current Sydney Test . Dhoni has not only failed as a batsman, but as a captain as well. It is saddening to see captain cool turn into a clueless captain, especially when the opposition batsmen are on a song. When they are having a good run, our captain runs out of ideas and plays the waiting game.

At this rate, tough calls need to be made and it becomes tough to play a waiting game! Last but not the least, the exit of coach Gary Kirsten has certainly had an undesired impact on the team as a whole. Duncan Fletcher appears a silent spectator right now and only he knows what is in his mind and what his plans for the team are.

Let us hope he is aware that the coach has a role only when the team is failing and not when things are fine! Never have we seen before a collective failure of this magnitude in recent memory. Captain, batsmen, bowlers and the coach deserve equal credit for this mayhem. A team which used to be consistent in putting up a fight is now consistently failing. The only positive we can expect from these embarrassing defeats is that the team will learn it the hard way and not be complacent henceforth. The next couple of years will see a number of new faces in the Indian team. Let this be an eye opener to them. The last year has seen India playing nine Tests abroad in four countries with the same result - “failure”.

The day is not far when unless each player plays his role, heads will roll!

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Venkat Balantrapu is currently a NRI and works in senior insurance management in Mauritius. He has played cricket passionately for over two decades at various levels in as well as outside India and continues to write on the sport with the same passion.

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Elric

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KP

your anguish is well reflected.it is dismal performance whatever reason one can ferret out.our team is just not adeuate in alien soils.that aprt attitude is lacking.as gavaskar put it, instead of having practice, the players were enjoying sight seeing.there are no matches in between tests. there is a time for everyone.let the agiung war horses be given the rest whatever be the form.we are losing anyway.let us try the youngsters and lose instead of making them languish.srikkanth mayhave faith in dhoni but the latter should know that his position as captain is not to be taken for granted.he has not been doing well also. let us learn lessons, have ideal piches at home,reduce the number of matches/tours or alternatively have two teams so that tiresome tours are shared. but the men at helm never learn and the same men control the organisation.