Uncork the bubbly, have a ball, and go on a splurge. And then get backto work. That is my message for the Indian cricket team.Victories abroad are such rare events in Indian cricket that it seemsnatural to go overboard, praise the heroes to the sky, and hail thevictory at Port of Spain as a great triumph. It will certainly takeits place in history as a notable win, even after taking into accountthe fact that the Indians, by and large, started as favourites againsta West Indian side palpably on the decline.
The fact remains, however, that India’s record of two victoriesagainst 14 losses in the Caribbean compares most unfavourably and, asis well known, the Indians do not travel well abroad. Under thecircumstances, it is difficult not to get excited by the victorynotched up at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday. Certainly the groundhas got to be the Indians’ favourite overseas venue, simply for thefact that nowhere else have India registered three victories abroad.Given the events of the disappointing rain-affected drawn Test atGuyana, there seemed little indication of things being different atPort of Spain. As I pointed out in my earlier column, this looked setto be a contest between two mediocre and evenly balanced sides, strongin batting and short on bowling. But the wicket and weather conditionswere very different in Trinidad. Given very little interference fromthe weather and a newly laid pitch that encouraged pace even as itfeatured some uneven bounce, there was something in it for thebowlers.Relishing such conditions, the eight principal bowlers on both sidesmade things that much more difficult for the batsmen, and the resultwas a cracker of a match, marked by fluctuating fortunes that couldhave gone either way until almost the very end. The connoisseur of thegame could not have asked for anything more.As I mentioned earlier, though, these are two sides with inherentweaknesses, and that was apparent during the five days. The suspectbatting at the top of the order, the long tail, and the lack ofvariety in the bowling the problems still exist. It was just thatthe one strong point in both sides the middle-order batting wasable to cover up for these lapses. How long one admirable aspect cancover up for three weak areas is a moot point.But then, one should not linger too long on the flaws alone. Indeed,the Indians deserve kudos for the manner in which they clearlyperformed above themselves. The most encouraging aspect was the waythe pace trio of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra cameoff. True, the pitch was an ally, but they utilised the conditionscommendably. Playing without their ace strike bowler over the lastdecade was a gamble, and it paid off in spades – proof that sometimesbold decisions have to be taken if the side is to succeed.
Next to the pace trio, it was the batting of the big four that playeda notable role in the triumph. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, SouravGanguly and VVS Laxman have all played up to their reputations in thetwo Tests thus far, and this has helped plug the loopholes at the topof the order. How long they can do so is open to debate, and perhapsthe time has come to replace Sanjay Bangar with Wasim Jaffer. Gangulycan always don the role of a fifth bowler, and it is about time arecognised opening batsman is given his due.Ajay Ratra, as was expected, was a vast improvement over DeepDasgupta. Now is the time to stop the wicket-keeping musical chairs,which has been an unfortunate episode over the last couple of years,and all encouragement should be given to this talented youngster.The Port of Spain victory could well mark a turning point in Ganguly’scaptaincy. He has had his critics, his share of ups and downs duringhis two-year stint at the helm. But I for one have always felt that heremains the best person for the high-pressure job. If anything, theevents at the Queen’s Park Oval should give him the confidence tosharpen his tactical skills.Some of these skills were in evidence even during the Test. His bowlingchanges were imaginative, and his tight field placings wereresponsible for bottling up even such natural stroke-players likeBrian Lara and Carl Hooper. Gone was the diffidence, the defensivestrategy, the 7-2 and 8-1 off-side fields that one saw at Georgetown.Ganguly’s aggressive tactics hustled the batsmen into errors, andcertainly his captaincy was as much a contributory factor in theultimate result as the middle-order batting or the bowling of the pacetrio.I must end on a word of caution. It is very easy to sit back on one’slaurels, to be lulled into a feeling of overconfidence. The Indianshave it in them to wrap up their first series in the Caribbean for 31years, and if they are to achieve it, they would do well to take aleaf out of their predecessors’ book. On that occasion too, India wonthe second Test at Port of Spain to take the lead in the five-matchseries. Then, led by the superhuman feats of new boy Sunil Gavaskar,who got four hundreds in three matches, and helped by invaluablecontributions at vital stages from other players, India were able tokeep that lead and emerge triumphant.The Indians would do well to remember that the next three Tests are atBridgetown, Kingston and Antigua – venues where they have not exactlycovered themselves with glory in the past. Just for the record, in 17Test matches at these venues, the Indians have lost 11 and drawn six.So there is still a lot of hard work ahead. As the cliché goes, theIndians have won the battle. Now they have to make sure they do notlose the war.