It’s time for Team India to walk the talk

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri, I suspect, will have their tails between their legs for a few days. In fact, unless India can turn things around quickly and win the remaining two Tests, their tails might remain in that place a fair while longer.

After dominating for three days, India went kaput. Sri Lanka’s stunning win in the first Test has shown that matches can’t be won by just hyperbole and strutting body language, as the captain and Team Director will have discovered. Winning at this level also has to do with resilience, strong nerves and ambition.

While it is true that some umpiring decisions went against them, it would puerile to believe that India’s defeat was only because of this. At best, it was a cruel reminder that the BCCI continues to spurn the DRS at its own cost. But it does not take away a whit from Sri Lanka’s magnificent effort in scripting a great, back-from-the dead victory.

In recent weeks, England have upset Australia in two matches in succession, making form and reputation go topsy-turvy. But the Galle Test was greater simply because of the hardship quotient for Sri Lanka after being bowled out cheaply in the first innings.

Those who track Indian cricket closely will draw parallels with the defeat against the West Indies at Barbados in 1996-97 when the team was bowled out for 81 after being set only 100-odd to win. But the turnaround in that match too wasn’t as dramatic.

In many ways, the recent Test was redolent of Headingly 1981 and Kolkata 2001. In both these matches, Australia suffered when their opponents (England in 1981, India in 2001) turned the match on its head through one spectacular effort, later to be complemented by other brilliant performances.

The big difference, of course, is that unlike England and India, Sri Lanka did not have to follow-on at Galle. But Dinesh Chandimal’s 162 not out which helped his team set India 176 runs in the fourth innings had the same brilliance about it as Ian Botham’s 149 in 1981 and V V S Laxman’s 281: scintillating strokeplay and an irresistible daredevilry.

For this, a batsman needs big talent and an even bigger heart. In his sensational counter-attack young Chandimal (who made a decent score even when Sri Lanka were bundled out in the first innings for a paltry score) has shown just why he is so highly rated. As happened with Laxman at Kolkata in 2001, this could be the career defining innings for him.

Of course, even such tour de force innings need some support from others. In 1981, Bob Willis had carried on from Botham’s knock to claim eight Australian wickets, in 2001 Harbhajan Singh had the Aussies in a tailspin and in Galle 2015, Rangana Herath bamboozled the Indian batsmen picking up seven wickets.

So where this does setback put India in this series? I’m afraid, pretty much on the back foot. The road from here will be uphill. Sri Lanka have now acquired the psychological ascendancy which be very, very difficult to stymie.

There are no immediate remedies on hand, though I would think both Rohit Sharma and Harbhajan Singh have done their cause no good with very, very tepid performances. M Vijay should, of course, be back, and it remains to be seen if Rohit can retain his place under pressure from Pujara or young Rahul.

The larger issue for Kohli (and Shastri) is whether India’s overly aggressive approach needs to be changed. Where team composition is concerned, I would say that the five-bowler tactic should not be diluted. India are unlikely to win with four bowlers, so the extra bowler has to be risked.

In the post-match press conference, Kohli spoke of how the match was perhaps lost because his batsmen became too cautious and did not play their natural game. That’s a big statement coming from the captain. The challenge for him is not just in how he communicates this to his players, but also how he channelizes the aggression he so desires. He is right that India cannot win by being too circumspect. The trend in international currently suggests that being defensive is an invitation for disaster. But Kohli must guard against becoming collective recklessness. The situation calls for some tough talking and hot-blooded performances, but preceding this, cool-headed thinking.