This series, as Sourav Ganguly observed with considerable feeling while making himself a cup of tea at Edgbaston, has been a throwback to how India travelled overseas in the 1990s: go and get beaten.
While India had its chances at Lord's and more obviously at Trent Bridge, and looked at stages like England's equal, Edgbaston was a right old walloping. It was understandable given how long series often un-spool: the team that swings the decisive moments begins to dominate the opposition, its belief growing, the other's eroding.
With the fourth and final Test set to begin on Thursday here at The Oval, London's burgher cricket ground (Lord's remains the haunt of the toffs), India finds itself in a delicate position. Only six times in its history has India been swept in a series of at least three Tests, and only thrice has this been a series of four or more matches.
The last time India lost all four matches of a series was in Australia in 1967-68; the last time India lost a series 0-4 was also in Australia, in 1991-92, but it was a five-Test series.
This time the embarrassment will be particularly severe. India came to the series as the No. 1 Test team in the world and the holder of the Pataudi Trophy. Both have been surrendered, the Pataudi Trophy for the first time since its inception.
Crucial phase
The fourth Test marks a crucial phase for India, and not just because it's playing for that elusive emotion, pride. It must prevent a clean sweep to save face, certainly. But the more important thing is to reaffirm to itself its intrinsic value. India is aware that it has within its ranks some great cricketers, mainly batsmen; does that a great team make?
India has been something of an underdog champion in its time at the top, resilient but not dominant. But it's this very resilience that's being questioned now. Defeat tends to uncover faults and magnify flaws: qualities that were seldom questioned when winning are now seen differently, there's plenty of ‘I told you so'.
Vital to progress
But if the panic can be kept away, defeats can be very clarifying; they are vital to progress. If there is one thing India has done particularly well, it has been to stay true to its style. But now this style has to be reassessed — calmly, and with as much cleverness as can be mustered. Can it continue to work and for how much longer? Can India play another way or is that a recipe for failure? And can evolution be accelerated?
Gary Kirsten did many fine things as coach. One of it, helping the great batsmen extend their careers, was central to India's success.
But the exit plan Kirsten spoke about early in his tenure was either shelved or not fully developed. It certainly wasn't made public.
Duncan Fletcher, who began the process of England's turnaround by introducing systemic change, will likely be in charge of the transition, whenever it happens. The magnitude of change, the extent of remodelling, is just as important. India's finest, most independent cricket brains, and not just another BCCI committee, must be recruited.
Tricky period
Indian cricket enters a tricky period, and it begins at The Oval. There's a sense within the team that it has fought hard, but somehow, for some reason, matters just haven't worked out. The only option for India now is to redouble its efforts; a start has to be made. It needs look no further than its opposition: England collapsed for 51 in the West Indies in early 2009 before regenerating into a wholesome, tightly-knit team.
The Oval isn't a bad ground to turn things around for India. It recorded its first win in England at this very ground in 1971.
More to the point, India hasn't been defeated here after 1959, and the last time it was here, in 2007, India made 664, remembered for Anil Kumble's only Test century, and sealed the series.
There's a reason for India's showing at The Oval. The wicket is usually good for batting, true of bounce and modest of movement. There is some conventional swing to be had. But with the abrasive practice pitches cut on the wicket square, and certain to be in the way of the ball when it's stuck, reverse swing is a distinct possibility. The strip also tends to take spin as the Test progresses. These are conditions India enjoys. Some succour, but India needs more than that.
The teams (from):
England: Andrew Strauss (capt.), Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan, Steve Finn, and Graham Onions.
India: M.S. Dhoni (capt. & wk), Gautam Gambhir (vice-capt.), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Abhinav Mukund, R.P. Singh, and Wriddhiman Saha.
Umpires: Simon Taufel and Rod Tucker; Third Umpire: Steve Davis; Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle
Hours of play (IST): 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., 6.10 p.m. to 8.10 p.m. & 8.30 p.m. to close.
