A New Order?

“Indian captain and his team will always be able to derive comfort and satisfaction in the knowledge that they played cricket in a manner and spirit envisaged by our forbears and they will retain a warm and cherished place in the hearts and minds of Australians.”

Sir Don Bradman was speaking about the Indian cricket team that traveled to Australia in 1977/78. In many ways that tour came as a welcome relief to the Australian Cricket Board, beleaguered by desertions from the frontline Australian players. Such was the popularity of the Indian team that more people watched the test against India than the ‘WSC Super Test’ at the Melbourne Waverley Football Park.

I have no idea if the current Indian team has captured the imagination of Australian fans. Even if they haven’t, they have certainly played the game that would have made the ‘Big B’ proud.

As Indians approach the final test at Adelaide, there is one uncanny similarity with the series played three decades ago. Back then, Indian team came back from a two match deficit to level the scores at the end of fourth test at Sydney. They have reached half way stage this time around. Adelaide could well see them attain ‘Moksha’ once again!

There are hurdles in this path, none bigger than the hosts themselves. It has been ages since the time Australia last lost two consecutive tests at home. And we don’t need a Andrew Flintoff or a Duncan Fletcher to vouch for their tenacity in face of defeat.

An even larger stumbling block for the Indians would be manifested in their team selection. Conventional wisdom would suggest a 7/4 combination. But India is playing to level the series. Going by the pitch report so far, Jaffer is sure to make way for Harbhajan Singh. That leaves a big question mark over the opening slot. These are times to let convention go for a toss. I would suggest dropping MS Dhoni and letting Dinesh Karthick keep the wickets and open the innings too. Not sure if that will happen, because it takes either a brave heart or an Aussie mindset to effect such decisions. And Indian team is not ready for it, as yet. To me, it is better to lose the series 3-1 in quest of a victory at Adelaide, than take an oft trodden path. After all, a 2-1 scoreline will tell the same story as a 3-1, won’t it?

If Sir Don spoke of Indian team’s sporting spirit, here is what Keith Miller, his teammate and one of my favourite Australian cricketers, wrote of the Indian team in 1971:

“After their win over the West Indies earlier this year, India are also conquerors of England, who trounced my own Australians. So India, once looked upon as in the ‘little league of cricket’ are in the big league. And strong contenders for the best in the world.”

Irrespective of the result at Adelaide, India is guaranteed a second place in the ICC test rankings. But they would badly want to win the final test of this series, not only to stay clear of the third ranked test team, Sri Lanka, but also take the first few steps in what could be a long drawn battle for the best team in the world.

Over to you, Team India.