A failure to believe

By ICF Staff
January 8 2007

The Test series started with an unlikely win in the most South African of conditions -- a bouncy pitch where India elected to bat first, despite five hostile quickies in the ranks of the home team and constant rhetoric about targetting the Indians with uncomfortable pace.

It ended with an unlikely loss in the most Indian of conditions -- a deteriorating pitch which increasingly took spin starting as early as day 2, and South Africa forced to bat in the fourth innings.

The fear of winning weighed heavily on the minds of world-class batsmen such as Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Having dominated much of the third Test, and confronted with the possibility of making history, it was as if they could do little else but choke.

Lack of confidence and muddled thinking ruled, as Dravid and Tendulkar slowed to a maddening crawl against a rookie spinner at a time when they had the winning platform. Leadership was conspicuous by its absence as Munaf Patel struggled to bowl a lone over in the second innings, Harbhajan Singh looked on from the pavilion not having been selected in spinner-friendly conditions, and a finger spinner failed to show up in the fourth innings until it was far too late.

Those inclined to look for positives will think about the glorious return of Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan, the brilliant emergence of Sree Sreesanth, and a rare opportunity grabbed by underrated Dinesh Karthick after Mahendra Singh Dhoni was sidelined due to injury.

But the overwhelming aftertaste for most Indian fans will be that of coming so close and yet so far -- an ignominious defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by "mentors" and "seniors" who have never learned to believe that they can win away from home.