India’s inability to win any Test silverware in England since 2007 should alarm the BCCI bosses, some of whom were present at The Oval in London for the World Test Championship final
India captain Rohit Sharma during Day Three of the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in London on June 9. Pic/Getty Images
India’s defeat in the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval provided another reason for pundits to bring up their favourite belief—the Indian cricket team can only win at home and crumble overseas.
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The 209-run loss to Australia reflected an extremely poor show when much was expected from a top-notch batting order.
With due consideration to the great batting line-up which boasted of the Big Five (Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly), the current Test batting line-up’s strength (Rohit, Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Jadeja) reminded me of the 1986 tour of England, where India had Gavaskar, Srikkanth, Amarnath, Vengsarkar, Azharuddin, Shastri and skipper Kapil Dev.
That there was only one 50-plus score from the current above-mentioned group cannot be wholly attributed to the brilliant Australian bowling.
Yet, despite being three down on the fourth evening, there was a layer of optimism over India getting to their 444-run target on the morrow. The task of getting an additional 280 runs on the final day was made to look less Herculean by the thought that 164 was a decent launch pad.
Fans remembered the Indian team chasing 328 at Brisbane in 2021, even though the target at The Oval exceeded Brisbane by more than 100 runs. By the first half of the opening session of the final day, dreams were crushed with Kohli and Jadeja falling to Scott Boland.
A spineless display of batting ensured India continued their wait for Test silverware in England. This lack of success in England should worry the BCCI bosses. A few of them were at The Oval.
The last time India won a Test series there was in 2007—16 years ago. Instead of merely mentioning 16 years, let me explain it in another way: In 2007, the Indian Premier League hadn’t even witnessed its inaugural edition. In 2007, current head coach Rahul Dravid was leading India and still had five years left in international cricket. In 2007, Sachin Tendulkar was still 22 centuries away from his record 100th international hundred. In 2007, Anil Kumble was still to lead India and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his successor, had just played 20 of his 90 Tests.
Tours to England have been invariably undertaken after the conclusion of the IPL and though not all English tours have had such short gaps like the current one (the IPL final ended in the wee hours of May 30 and the WTC final started on June 7), fatigue caused through such a strenuous and stressful tournament could play a negative role when it comes to contests in England.
Sure, cricketing ammunition, which India had plenty of, is a massive plus, but tired soldiers can’t win wars.
The irony of the Indian team’s shambolic batting performance is that their head coach was a highly successful batsman on English soil and that includes limited overs cricket. Dravid’s Test debut score of 95 at Lord’s in 1996 is remembered. What is probably not as appreciated is his 84 in his next innings at Nottingham while Sourav Ganguly scored hundreds in both those India innings. In the 1999 World Cup, he averaged 65.86 in eight innings and scored hundreds against Kenya and defending champions Sri Lanka.
At the height of his powers on the 2002 tour, his Test scores read 46, 63, 13, 115, 148 and 217. He had a poor series with the bat in 2007 but lifted the Pataudi Trophy alright, while in 2011, he scored three hundreds in four Tests.
Presumably, Dravid’s words of wisdom on batting in English conditions were lost on his team. Mind you, batting in English conditions has its share of big challenges. I remember speaking to Clive Lloyd at The Oval when India under Dhoni, were set to lose their fourth Test in a row against England in 2011. Lloyd spoke about how preparation is key for an England tour and spelt out the obstacles. “England is a difficult place to play cricket. The old ball will probably swing more than the new one. You just can’t come in and think you are going to get runs. People here were expecting much from India. It is a much better side than what they are showing in the field,” said Lloyd.
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Doubtless, India didn’t have enough time to acclimatise for such a high profile game and Dravid was not as hard-hitting as he could have been. “The schedules are very tight. We hardly got a few weeks preparation after the IPL. Plus, there weren’t any tour games. I’m not here to complain, many congratulations to Australia,” he said.
Yes, Australia deserve the plaudits, and this win has only added fuel in their tank for this summer’s Ashes. It is also noteworthy that The Oval has not been a particularly profitable venue for the Australians. Before the WTC final, they had won only three Tests in the last 51 years across 15 Ashes series. Now they have four Oval wins in this span. And by July 31—after the fifth and final Ashes 2023 Test there—they could well thank India for providing them a perfect start to their English summer.
Meanwhile, those enthusiasts who are justifiably disappointed at India’s WTC final show may want to think about how the amazing series win Down Under in 2020-21 attracted universal praise. Let’s also not forget that India were leading 2-1 against England when the Test series went into ‘to-be-continued’ mode in 2021.
Should the ‘tigers at home, flops overseas’ line of thinking be up for reconsideration? I think so.
mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance.
He tweets @ClaytonMurzello. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.
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