The three-year period from mid-2008 to mid-2011 is perhaps the best that an Indian team has enjoyed in recent times. India played 11 Test series of which it won eight, including in New Zealand and the West Indies, and drew three, including in South Africa and Sri Lanka.
As India goes into the second Test which starts at the P Sara Oval here on Thursday, it would do well to remember a couple of lessons from then, especially when the endeavour, according to its captain, is to play ‘fearless cricket.’
The team’s success during that three-year phase was attributed to the very same sense of fearlessness, perhaps not from everybody, but enough to project it as the team’s primary characteristic.
What is also true is that the team recovered quickly from losses then, and that ability helped the players banish the fear of failure.
That team had some highly skilled individuals, and for them to find space, it was important that the unit possessed these qualities. The current Indian team too has some skilled individuals though not quite at the same level as their predecessors. For them to flower, it is important to inculcate such qualities, and the second Test will be a test of the same.
“When you are in a situation like this, live in the moment,” said Team Director Ravi Shastri. “Live in the now. And clear your mind of all other things and focus on the moment and how you should play.”
“I am sure the boys have enough talent. They will be sitting back and saying ‘what did I do? Why didn’t I play this shot and why didn’t I play in that fashion?’ So, hopefully, they will learn from that.”
However, the team had some well-established players then who could afford such mindfulness. With this lot, though, K.L. Rahul at the top, Rohit Sharma at No.3 and Wriddhiman Saha at No. 6 are all still in the nascent stages of their careers.
With Shikhar Dhawan out for the second Test, and a question mark over M. Vijay’s fitness — though he batted relatively fluently in the nets on Tuesday — how swift can the turnaround be?
All along, the emphasis has been on the need to take 20 wickets. But now, what the batting collapse and the injuries have done is to make the team jittery.
Though the team management is still leaning towards the five-bowler theory, the drafting in of Stuart Binny is a clear sign that it wants to shore up the batting and also give itself a bowling option under relatively more seamer-friendly conditions compared to Galle.
Shastri said: “We thought we needed, for the balance of the side, some additional support. We thought we needed additional support in case you need to play an extra batsman who can bowl a bit as well; not bowl a bit, can bowl. And, [Binny] is a genuine all-rounder.”
“It does take time to get to the right combination. With this Indian team, with this kind of bowling attack, I think an all-rounder is a must. I would say, more a batting all-rounder. It’s an absolute must.
“When you play in these conditions, you might not need five bowlers but four-and-a-half. I think it’s important to get the right balance.”
On Tuesday, the Indian batsmen went to the nets, perhaps to get this process kick-started. Vijay and Rahul, Rohit and Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara — the latter’s selection as No.3 looks unlikely — all batted in pairs, indicative of the batting order that might take shape. Binny’s outwingers and Ishant Sharma’s off-cutters won nods of approval from Shastri.
However, as Shastri said, all of this requires time and patience. But, in this intervening period, it is also important to not allow the perception of this line-up as being collapse-prone. Perception is difficult to fight, and the clearest evidence of this is Rohit is fighting fire, after just four innings at No.3.
It is, in essence, a double-edged sword. The solution to this holds the key to the future.
