Pictures like the one you see above are rare. It is not often that team India wearing white celebrates at the end of a hard fought Test match on foreign soil, let alone an entire series. The picture is all the more special as it was the first time any team had taken down the mighty Aussies in their own fortress called Perth. The impregnable empire of Australian cricket was breached and conquered by an Indian side that was humiliated both on and off the field during the earlier test in Sydney. Yet, such glorious moments are few in Indian cricket as a team which is capable of miracles and is filled with glittering stars has failed to find the cure to its ‘Home Sick Syndrome’.
Team India has failed to conquer the world even with its star-studded line up in the past two decades. The quality of a champion Test side is to be able to win in every condition and that is why Team Australia is rated so highly. Players must adapt to what has been thrown at them and it must not take entire month to acclimatize. India have toured widely since 1990 and barring the 1-0 series wins against a declining West Indies side and an equally bad English outfit, the team has achieved little of notice. Yes, there have been the one odd Test wins in Australia and South Africa and the fact that we are ready to cling to just those is ample enough to show India’s poor performance on foreign soil.
The recent Test Series in Sri Lanka was a new low to the team as it struggled pathetically in the sub-continent; a place where it was expected to do a lot better than in Australia or South Africa. With Pakistan barely fielding quality Test sides, the wins against Pakistan in recent history are barely of any significance other than emotional solace. The 1-0 win in England in 2007 under Dravid’s reign could have easily been 2-0 had India been a lot more aggressive in the final Test. The 1-0 win in West Indies in 2005-06 is barely anything to brag about as the tracks in the Isles have gone flat and the once fierce cricketing power has taken a mighty fall.
The problem seems to be both in the mind and in the ability of the players. For better part of the last two decades we had only two competent Test batsmen in Sachin and Dravid who could consistently produce runs on foreign soil. Before 2001 and Dravid’s golden run, stats suggest many glorious Sachin Tendulkar knocks going in vain as neither did India have the supporting cast with the bat nor with the ball. Domestic cricket had pampered the batsman with docile tracks that were run-scoring heavens and they found dealing with the seaming and bouncing ball a bit too much to handle.
Even India’s limited pace attack for over a decade meant that the opposition batsman had it easy after Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad were done with their initial burst. This is one area where India has come of age in the past few years and the direct result shows in the winning of the few odd tests which were otherwise not possible through the 90’s. But Indian batsman seem to still have a long way to go in adapting to foreign tracks and the trend is very worrying with few coming in to stake a claim on the middle order positions in the team.
Since 1990 India have won series in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and England and have managed to win tests in Australia and South Africa. We will not even discuss Bangladesh and Zimbabwe here apart from the fact that India lost even a Test in Zimbabwe! But they need to do a lot more if they want to get to the top spot. Bad starts and defeats in the final encounters of every three-test series have become common. Better nerve and superior technique along with careful handling and nurture of the options present in the pace department will help them get there.
The Sri Lankan Series was an aberration from the pattern or a new low in the saga of foreign conquests; depending on the way one views it. Hopefully it was the former and the team will rejuvenate and get ready for the next conquest.
