Colombo Test, Day 5
Sunday, September 2, 2001   A 2-1 series defeat shouldn't make India reach for the panic button. It's important not to lose sight of the fact that this Indian team was far from being the first XI. Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Ashish Nehra were all key absentees and in that context, the series scoreline is quite encouraging.

The win at Kandy was very significant. It showed that this Indian team is capable of winning matches even without some of the heavyweights. Before this season, India had won just one Test abroad since 1986 – in Sri Lanka in 1993. Under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy, they have won twice on foreign soil in the past three months, first at Bulawayo and then in Kandy. Those wins came on the back of a memorable triumph against Australia – a sure sign that the winning habit is slowly taking root. It is important not to ignore that. There is no need for talk of a crisis. If anything, Indian cricket has taken a few steps forward in the past few months.

What was disappointing though was the failure of the inexperienced players. This was a golden opportunity for them to showcase their talent. Faced with a moderate challenge, they failed.

Shiv Sunder Das was unable to capitalise on some good starts and ended the series without a century. Sadagoppan Ramesh will have to do much more to justify the time and faith invested in him by the selectors. Hemang Badani's failures surprised me, as he had looked fairly competent, both technically and temperamentally, in the one-day matches.

Jacob Martin is one batsman who could get more opportunities in future, especially in the light of Kaif and Badani failing to establish themselves. Not that any of these players will command a place once Tendulkar and Laxman return.

Sameer Dighe did nothing to enhance his reputation – especially in the final Test – while his Mumbai colleague Sairaj Bahutule was also disappointing. He had a fairly long spell in which to show some spark, but I doubt if the selectors would have felt that they were seeing something special.

Venkatesh Prasad's return to form is encouraging. His experience will come in handy in South Africa, more so if Srinath misses out through injury. He will be a good foil to the strike bowlers on South African pitches.

Harbhajan Singh will leave Sri Lanka a wiser young man for his experiences. He himself confessed that he needs more time with the Kookaburra ball – which will be used in South Africa. I think he has also realised that there are more ways to get the batsmen out than having them caught at short leg and silly point. Having watched Murali in action, he will have gained some valuable insights.

More Sanjay Manjrekar
Batsmen buckle under pressure - Day 4, close

  Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late `80s and early `90s, was talking to Dileep Premachandran.

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