It's judgement time, and the Indian team has gone AWOL

Ten years from now when cricket fans meet and discuss the strongest teams ever, the names of Steve Waugh’s Australia, Clive Lloyd’s West Indies, Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Hansie Cronje’s South Africa, Andrew Strauss’ England will crop up as front-runners, as will that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s India. Dhoni’s side has a very strong claim to greatness – it is built along the strength of a batting line-up that is statistically one of the finest the world has ever seen. It lacks bowlers who can lay claim to the legends tag, but they are still up to the mark. However, no matter how much the supporters of Dhoni’s team fight, their arguments will fall flat in the face of the Indian team’s record on ‘Away’ tours. [caption id=“attachment_55092” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“For Dhoni and his team the challenge is to win against the ‘big’ teams ‘away from home.’ Paul Ellis/AFP”]  [/caption] Every era has its good teams and the challenge for any team that wants to be counted as great is to go and beat these teams in their den. That’s what Australia did, that what West Indies did and that’s what every great team has done. For Dhoni and his team, the challenge is not just to win at home – they have been doing that – the challenge is to win against the ‘big’ teams ‘away from home. Ten years from now, they will not be judged by the wins they had against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka; they will be judged by how well they’ve done against the best teams of their era – namely Australia, England and South Africa. And it is here that they fall short. The loss at Lord’s had asked many questions about where this Indian team was headed and what happened at Trent Bridge has only furthered that debate. And the big question being asked is whether the Indians prepared well enough for this tough assignment. But perhaps the question to be asked is how this side views itself: Do they see themselves as a great side or are they content being a good side? There is no doubt that they have played poorly in the two Tests and no one has really put their hand up whether it is bowling or batting to get the team out of trouble. They have missed crucial players and that must be accepted as well. It is hard enough to get teams out with four bowlers, but to do it with three in consecutive Tests is just asking for too much. Similarly, the absence of Sehwag was already a big blow and when Gautam Gambhir also went missing for the second Test, it only compounded the worries. So, to put them down completely will not be fair. But they have been found wanting at crucial junctures and in the eyes of many, they’ve lost their verve in the middle of a crucial, defining season. While you might get away with less preparation against a mediocre team, your preparation has to be spot on when you play a top team and India has learnt the lesson the hard way so far. And this is where you got to respect the fact that you have worked hard to get to number one, but holding on to the top spot and dominating is a completely different ball game. While previously, you were the hunter, you are now being hunted by the others. And that basically means that the opposition brings a completely different intensity to the competition. There’s no greater joy than beating the world number one – England recognises that; India doesn’t. They have perhaps still not moved into the champions mould. But now that they are 0-2 down in the series, perhaps it is time to step back in the challenger’s shoes. India has been written off by almost everyone, but in the past few years they have shown the tendency to fight back when the chips are down. They will be boosted by the presence of Sehwag and Zaheer and mentally that should give them some relief. While it is by no means easy to beat this rampant English team, it is never easy to rule anything out in sport. Hopefully, the Indians use the tour game to wisely prepare for the rest of the series. I do maintain, if our batters are able to put runs on the board, we can stretch the English and the results can be different to what has happened so far. The bowlers haven’t done badly at all. And if the batsmen can get their act together, England will be under pressure as well. It’s a tough task no doubt, but this is precisely when champions prove their true worth. Perhaps, it’s time for India to do the same.