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13/01/12 | Return | Print |

India’s majestic middle order with failing refl exes!!

By Srini Vasan

The Indian team fought gallantly for the first three days in Melbourne but let Australia off the hook to lose the Test. In Sydney where the stakes were high for India’s majestic middle order they went down meekly in the fi rst innings handing a valuable advantage to the Australians who went about piling runs.

The three veterans need to do their best to use their experience to overcome the slowing refl exes before Perth and Adelaide. A thrashing in the series will see the change of guard even if there is no suitable replacements as it will be blamed on ageing reflexes.

Sachin, Rahul and Laxman have done well on all kinds of wickets but even they need to adapt quickly in this series. It is scary to think of Rohit, Kohli and Yuvraj replacing them in 2012 but if the veterans do not show a fight in the series it is bound to happen. The team balance, wisdom, experience will be missed if the trio leaves in quick succession and there will be turmoil if the students stepping into their masters shoe don’t settle down and perform quickly.

India's old guns are swinging like rusty gates. The ageing great’s weakness in countering the rising and swinging deliveries suggests there is urgent need for fresh blood and rebuilding. One of the most frightening moments of the first two Tests was the sight of Rahul Dravid getting bowled four times (including on a no ball) – appears to be a case of some bricks withering from the 39 year old Wall. His hands and eyes no longer align with the ball as flawlessly as they used to. There’s a hint of his head falling over to the off-side each time he’s been bowled on this tour. After the Melbourne Test, Dravid requested coach Duncan Fletcher to have a close look at him and fielding coach Trevor Penny did the throwdowns from a shorter distance at nets. The theory was Dravid wasn’t leaning enough on to his drives, while Fletcher wanted his body and shoulder alignment to move in one line while pressing forward. The result was more bricks came out of the wall in Sydney. Interestingly, Dravid is close to a record that he will not cherish. He’s been bowled on 52 occasions in Test cricket and just one short of the record held by Allan Border.

The failures of Laxman and the No. 6 (Raina in England, Kohli in Australia) increase the workload for Tendulkar (who appears to be in great form) and Dhoni, who’s come out to bat with the side in trouble nearly every single time.

The selectors and the fans need to swallow the bitter pill of the fact that the greatest batting combination ever, is on a steep decline.