London, September 09:
The last day
of the Indian summer in England ended in rain. Not a ball was
bowled on the final day of the last Test, with India and England
sharing the series.
From an Indian point of
view, this must be the best result they have had in years,
considering their by and large miserable overseas record. Here,
India's performance, after the Lord's debacle, was outstanding.
Sourav Ganguly expressed
his disappointment at going home once again with the dubious
distinction of not winning a series intact. However, he too believes
that this was one of the better shows put up by an Indian team while
playing outside the sub-continent.
England captain Nasser
Hussain complimented the Indians, and wondered why don't they win
more often, given "the strength of their batting and the quality of
their spin bowling''. The ultimate compliment was when he admitted,
“I found it very difficult and wondered how I would get them out
twice as the series progressed".
The biggest let down for
the Indians must have been the result at the Oval. Before the Test
began, Ganguly was very confident that his side could win the fourth
Test, as the wicket here is known to assist spin. But once he lost
the toss and England put up a huge first innings score, there was no
way India could have won the match.
There may have been a lot
of pluses from the series, but one thing which helped the Indians
perform well, was that the 'big three' clicked in almost every
match. The other good thing to happen was the emergence of Zaheer
Khan as a genuine medium-pace bowler, though Ashish Nehra's sudden
decline in form was surprising.
The opening problems still
persist. Virender Sehwag may have made a few runs in that position
and, despite Ganguly saying he has adapted himself well at that
slot, one in not too sure whether he is the right man for this job.
India should also consider themselves lucky that England lost a few
key players -- who may have helped them get back into the series --
to injury.
Overall, it was a very
satisfying performance from a team, which seemed to have lifted
itself once they rebelled against the Board and stayed away from
signing the ICC contract in its original form. This Indian team
under the leadership of Ganguly has shown that there is always
strength in unity.
