The emperor has no clothes.
In the classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen, it took a child to expose the pretence when everyone was aware of the charade but scared to say it aloud.
And it took New Zealand, never counted among the big boys of international cricket, to expose the fragility of the Indian team, hidden behind a 12-year, 18-series winning streak at home.
To quote another literary luminary, Ian Fleming: “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action”. But in India’s case, several of the wounds were self-inflicted, originating in the incompetence and hubris about the impregnability of their citadel.
In a way, this Indian team is lucky. Fans in the 1990s and 2000s may have reacted differently to such a capitulation — recall the scenes at Eden Gardens during the 1996 World Cup semifinal and the Asian Test Championship game against Pakistan, and the reaction when things didn’t go India’s way at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. Maybe, this generation, brought up on the instant gratification that the Indian Premier League provides, forgets too soon. The momentary outrage now finds an outlet on social media. Or, maybe, they were too stunned to react, as faces at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday showed. They are not used to seeing what was unfolding in front of their eyes.
That in no way belittles what the New Zealanders achieved over the last 20 days, something that more star-studded and resource-heavy teams have only dreamt of in the past few decades. Indications had been there with Test defeats at home becoming more frequent over the last few seasons, but visiting sides couldn’t stay in the fight long enough as an Indian fightback and conditions got the better of them.
Living in denial
This time too, the first Test loss in Bengaluru was attributed to New Zealand-like conditions and faulty decision-making at the toss. But it would stretch credulity to say that the Kiwis would have been dismissed for 46 if Rohit Sharma had put them under overcast skies on a pitch that had been under covers for a long time. During the series, Tom Latham and his men (without the services of their best-ever batsman, Kane Williamson) displayed much better application and discipline when put under pressure. When India threatened a comeback in their second innings, the Kiwis engineered another collapse — this time with the second new ball.
The Bengaluru defeat prompted a return to type as India ramped up the degree of difficulty on the spin scale, despite knowing fully well that their own batsmen have failed time and again on such surfaces. Their plan — which has worked many times in the past — is based on visiting batsmen being even more incompetent against the turning ball (and the one that goes straight) and the prowess of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in such conditions.
As it turned out, India probably needed two sets of pitches and conditions — one which became a featherbed when they batted, and the other a minefield when they bowled — to make it an even contest.
Much has been said and written about the lack of experience in the current Indian batting line-up in spin-friendly conditions. But New Zealand hardly ever find such pitches or weather — unless they travel to the Subcontinent — and were facing spinners with legendary reputations. The likes of Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips are not certain of getting a game when the Kiwis face England at home next.
Nowhere to hide
Despite the long winning streak at home, the inherent lack of confidence was evident in the Indian ranks. After the Bengaluru setback, having a true wicket was considered too much of a risk, hence the ploy to bring down the average scores with the belief that the big guns with the bat would make just enough runs and the famous spin-brothers would roll over teams for next to nothing. Despite having a once-in-a-generation bowler like Jasprit Bumrah in their arsenal, the think-tank doesn’t consider providing seamer-friendly pitches as they are unsure about how their own batsmen would fare on such surfaces against quality bowling attacks, never mind what the marketing men and bhakts would have us believe.
But a one-trick pony can’t last in the game forever. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not the players they once were — the skipper, especially, seems to have lost faith in his defence and his default course of action after being beaten a couple of times is to advance down the track and attempt a mow, even against pace bowlers with a new ball in hand. The next generation of batsmen are still finding their feet at the top level. Ashwin and Jadeja have bowled so many overs in the last decade or so that their shoulders are starting to feel the strain. They may still produce a vintage spell on occasion, but it would be too much to expect it with the same frequency.
The debacle proves the adage that nothing lasts forever. Even the biggest empires and dynasties collapse due to their own flaws and the weight of their inherent contradictions. It was great while it lasted but it’s time now for regeneration. A vast country like India with an unmatched passion for cricket will bounce back sooner rather than later. But things may get worse before they get better.
tushar.bhaduri@expressindia.com
