That absolutely brilliant century by Sachin Tendulkar against England ‘A’ has given the Indians the belief that they will be able to put it past England in the Test series starting today. It was not just the volume of runs, but the manner in which he got them that spells trouble with a capital ‘T’ for England, and entertainment with a capital ‘E’ for cricket fans. After a long, long time, it was Tendulkar the Destroyer that was on view, and not the Accumulator that he had become over the last couple of years or so. His balance was superb, and the leaning into the drive and standing up and stroking through the covers made the heart sing. This was the little champion at his best and as the world knows him. Somewhere in the last two years or so, he had got hidden from view, but at Chelmsford, he not only peeped out, but came out blazing and firing on all cylinders. True, it was only an England ‘A’ team, but now that two of those bowlers are in the England squad, it was a moral victory as those two youngsters, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett, were seen scratching their heads and wondering where to bowl to the little champion.
Rahul Dravid showed at Hove that he didn’t need too much time to adjust to English conditions, and the way Dhoni batted in the Chelmsford game also gives India hope that there will be a lot of fireworks in this series. Dinesh Karthik batted well in both games and Laxman had a good outing at Hove. The only worry is the form of Jaffer and the opener has to get over his early lethargy, or he will find himself getting more time to indulge in it in the dressing room. Saurav Ganguly too didn’t get too many, but he has a top record against England in England, especially at Trent Bridge, where the second Test is to be played. The batting thus looks ready to a great extent, but it’s the bowling that will be a worry for Dravid. Since India will opt for six batsmen plus Dhoni, it will mean that four bowlers will be used, with Ganguly and Tendulkar turning their arms over. Zaheer has shown good form, Sreesanth has shown attitude, and R.P. Singh has been quietly impressive.
The weather in England has got a bit better, and it has been sunny out here. So it will be hard work for the bowlers if they don’t get the early breakthroughs. The problem has been that even after they have done that, they have struggled to get the lower order out, which is not a new failing but one which has been there since time immemorial. The knockout punch is still absent from the Indian bowling line-up, and is seen only occasionally overseas. Anil Kumble as always will be the key. He has the ability to clean up the tail, but as he is not getting younger, those fizzers that blew the tail away are not always doing the work. England too have their problems, with Flintoff still not fit and Harmison declared unfit for the rest of the series, so there will be no firepower there, which should make life easy for India’s batsmen. Monty Panesar has come on so well, but he too knows that his real challenge will be to trouble the world’s best players of spin. The days when there used to be lots of grass on the pitches in England are long gone, and if the sun comes out, this could well be an enjoyable series for the batsmen, and plenty of work for the bowlers.
