Whenever an Indian team travel to the West Indies it brings back the keen sense of anticipation that I felt when the news of my selection first came through, way back in 1971. Thereafter every time an Indian team leave for and land in the Caribbean Islands, that feeling that India can do it comes through again and again. Unfortunately no Indian team since 1971 has been able to win a Test series there though they have been in a good position to do. The teams of 1997 and 2002 came close to winning but threw the chances away in one session of panic.
The 2006 team under Rahul Dravid have a tremendous opportunity to win both the one-day and Test series and do it in style. The skipper is on his third tour of the West Indies and having been a member of the ’97 Tendulkar team and 2002 Ganguly team, he is well aware of the pitfalls of underestimating the West Indies. The greater danger is that life in the West Indies is so infectiously laid back that it can affect the players’ approach to the game. That is when a touch of casualness enters and can lead to a player losing his focus. This is less likely to happen under Dravid and with the stern coach, Greg Chappell, keeping a hawk eye on the players, anybody showing signs of casualness will find himself being packed off.
For once the Indian attack looks well balanced with a good mix of seam and spin with the new ball bowlers capable of returning fire with fire. Not that the West Indians have anybody really pacey for the Indians to worry about, but its comforting to know that there’s someone who can bowl the short one to make life tough for the West Indian quicks. In the past the West Indian quicks knew that there was nobody to bowl the ‘rib-ticklers’ back at them so they could bowl short to the Indian bowlers with impunity. The restriction on the bouncers has also cramped the West Indian new ball bowlers who do not seem to have other tricks up their sleeves especially after the ball loses it’s shine and hardness. The West Indians have struggled in recent times because their batting has not clicked and is over-dependent on Brian Lara. Their problem starts at the top where the lack of a reliable pair of opening batsman has meant the opposition gets to bowl to Sarwan and Lara while there is some swing, movement and life in the pitch. India too have opening batting worries with Sehwag still not entirely in tune with himself. The rest of the batting has done well in recent times and with the West Indian pitches now being pretty similar to those in India, there should not be much adjustment required to be done by the batsmen. In one-day cricket the pace at which the West Indians bowl would be just about ideal for the batsmen and so there should be some big totals, like the one in the warm-up game, that can be expected from the Indian side. West Indies have no spinner to speak of while India have the classy Harbhajan and the deceptive Powar. The latter may miss the first couple of one-dayers but has proved himself to be a quality player in the limited opportunities that he has got. History beckons this Indian team and with the determination that is the hallmark of the Indian captain, Rahul Dravid, Indian fans should have an enjoyable time over the next two months.
