Hyderabad: Team India might have needed the reality check in South Africa. The year 2013 was phenomenal enough on the field for Dhoni’s men but then they needed to be reminded they may not be as good when it comes to playing Test cricket away from home.
Ten away Tests have gone by in two years for nine defeats and one honourable draw that may actually have been a gift from South Africa who developed cold feet at the heady climax.
The highs of the year were elevating enough to merit the conclusion that Team India had done well in the year. Maybe it’s time to put away this gripe about their not being able to travel so well when it comes to Tests and focus on the positives.
The core of a new team is forming and 2014 should be all about getting the combination just right for the World Cup of 2015 rather than worry too much about the Test ladder of merit in which South Africa is climbing further.
The positive turn came in the Chepauk Test even if it needed the expertise of Kannan Parthasarathy to put out an extra special pitch that was slanted to favour only the spinners. The Aussies were so spooked by the experience they had no answer when Dhoni came at them next with one of those inspired batting performance of controlled savagery that modern batsmen seem so capable of.
The visitors were reduced to the state of cornered prey and never quite recovered. The momentum lasted into the Champions Trophy despite all the flak that was flying around after what was a disastrous IPL season in which even owners of teams were caught betting.
Dhoni was sent to England with a strict edict not to speak of anything but the cricket at hand and somehow his team managed to enhance their reputation with a surprise win in the final just when England seemed to have the match in their pocket.
From beyond the boundary it is somewhat easy to say that cricketers should concentrate on the game come what may. Being in Dhoni’s place, with his Chennai Super Kings squarely in the middle of the betting scandal and his pal and team ‘enthusiast’ in jail, things could never have been easy.
The Champions Trophy was followed by some phenomenal batting from both sides in the ODI series against Australia. The batting bar may have been raised forever in a sensational advertisement for the attractions of the limited-overs game that emboldens the batsmen like none else.
The long Sachin Tendulkar farewell was a nice little interregnum with the West Indies the friendliest guests imaginable. Much like the Indian team of 1947-48 was in thrall of Don Bradman, visitors from the Caribbean may have come to pay their compliments to the game’s greatest icon since the Don himself rather than to compete. Everything else was bound to be an anticlimax after such a sentimental farewell to Sachin on the cricket field.
The worrying factor is the batting tended to fold up on the bouncy pitches of South Africa. It is unlikely that Australian pitches will be that bouncy or helpful to quick bowlers. However, the Indian batsmen’s reaction to having to attack the ball when it is chest high rather than knee high does not hold out that much hope.
Much will depend on how and where they prepare for the World Cup since much of the cricket on dusty turners will be useless data when it comes to taking on bouncy conditions. The conclusion is India will always be a better team when assessed on its ODI capabilities than a Test team whose bowling resources tend to generally diminish when playing abroad.
