As far as I can see amidst much speculation India lost the 3-Test series against South Africa in one appalling batting session on the morning of Jan 5^th, the fourth day of the final test. Such is the amazing and captivating nature of Test cricket that an entire series can hinge on a mere hour of play here or there. A revitalized Sourav Ganguly had just partnered Rahul Dravid in a 64-run stand and led India from 6-2 to 90-2 before slicing to point. What followed thereafter, though, was absolutely unimaginable, and probably the worst example of spineless batting still from an already beleaguered Indian batting lineup. Sitting in front of my TV monitor watching Star Sports’ live coverage back home in India, I almost fell asleep as Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar set about scripting India’s suicide.

With an overnight lead of 41 runs, not large by any stretch but significant in the context of the final two days of a test match, India were in the driver’s seat and ready to dictate play on the fourth morning at Cape Town. On a pitch that was as close to an Indian batting belter as South Africa would ever offer, Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer stepped out to, what most believed, stretch India’s lead comfortably beyond 250 runs. That India found themselves at 6-2 is not surprising says much of what one has come to expect of the openers in recent times, and I reiterate my call for the return of Gautam Gambhir into the opening batsman slot. Exactly who he should replace, of course, is what is so difficult to decide. Jaffer does not have anywhere close to the experience Sehwag does, but then managed a very important century in the first innings of the final test that laid the foundation for India’s ascendancy. Sehwag, on the other hand, with a fabulous test average, is going through such a lean trot (85 runs in 6 innings) that it is tempting to axe him instead, but then provided for some breathtaking catches at point and gully throughout the series. The talented Gambhir may consider himself extremely unlucky to be on the bench with two equally miserable incumbents in a three-horse race.

Nevermind that, in a flash India climbed to 90-3 with Ganguly and Dravid adding runs in positive vein before Ganguly cut upwards to the point-gully fielder. With a lead of 131 runs and 7 wickets in hand, including the evergreen VVS Laxman and Dinesh Karthik who had just scored a brilliant 63 in the first innings, I still cannot for the life of me understand what exactly went through the minds of two of the best test batsmen to have ever lived that they dropped the scoring rate to under 2 runs/over! Dravid and Tendulkar, for all their worth, batted like lost school boys abandoned in stormy seas atop a leaking rickety boat. Dravid’s elegant front foot defence became the order of the day, and Tendulkar, having massacred the likes of Shane Warne and Daniel Vettori found it difficult to read test debutant Paul Harris’s gentle left-arm orthodox spin (despite having played him relatively easily in the first innings for a solid 64). Not once did either batsman use his feet, play square of the wicket, or attempt to nudge the ball into gaps to rotate strike. Defensive strokes and crease-occupation became an obsession in what appeared to be India’s invitation to South Africa to take the series away from them. And just when I had implemented my own haircut and torn out half my locks in utter frustration, Dravid finally chose to drive at yet another pitched-up delivery, only to get a thick inside edge that crept past the bowler’s outstretched hands allowing the batsmen a run – the first in 29 deliveries, and that too off a mistimed stroke! That is 1 run in 5 overs at (gulp) 0.2 runs/over. This was the tip of the iceberg, for both batsmen continued to crawl further and further into their shell as I, along with the rest of the Indian subcontinent, began to feel heavy eyelids and drift off to sleep.

If India are to consider themselves world champions they have a long way to go yet. That they were thrashed 0-4 in the preceding ODI series may be proof enough for some that we are still far away from any such accolade, but to lose the test series after staring victory in the face is going to hurt not only the pride of the people, but also the players for a long time. This cannot be good for our cricket or team morale. It is impossible to even consider any alternative other than an attacking one that the professional Australians would have showed in similar circumstances. At 90-3 one can imagine Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey to have accelerated the run-rate to well above 3.5-3.8 an over and really nailed South Africa in their coffin. Why exactly Dravid and Tendulkar chose to score under 2 an over remains a mystery, but it is in this hour of play that an entire series, and a gripping one at that – evenly poised at 1-1 with all to play for on the last 2 days on the final test, was decided. Rather, was gifted. Such negative batting would have insulted Laxman and Karthik and the rest of the squad as the message was clear: “we are 3 wickets down already and therefore in deep trouble. We are going to try and avoid any more loss of wickets and stay on for the rest of the day, never mind the score.” Never has a test match been won by preserving wickets, rather drawn. Cricket is fundamentally about runs - the team with the highest total wins, as simple as that - and Dravid and Tendulkar for one crucial session did disservice to the entire team. A spineless performance by the Indians, and you can bet Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock will be having a wry smile about their escape in the dressing room. All other teams would also have taken notice, and I can assure you that they will come down very hard now at the Indian team in a couple of month’s time when the World Cup starts. India are no longer feared, rather, if given enough time to wallow, will naturally gift victory to the opposition.

Is there any point in highlighting positives then? Well, there were some nonetheless. S. Sreesanth’s amazingly consistent seam bowling, the very cause of India’s first ever test victory on South African soil, Zaheer Khan and Sourav Ganguly’s contributions and impact on the team’s successes immediately upon their return, and Dinesh Karthik’s valiant batting when thrown into the opener’s slot for the vital deciding test will give some individuals reason to smile, albeit not for long. As a whole, the team will be feeling very gutted at this moment, and with just 8 ODI’s worth of practice to go before the start of the World Cup campaign, I would not expect much from this wounded team.