Will history repeat itself?

If you go by the pattern the three-match Test series in England is shaping up so far, one wonders if we are watching a repeat of the 1971 series under Ajit Wadekar, where India managed to win the series 1-0 despite being at the receiving end for most part of the series.

The first two Tests, during the summer of 1971 were disrupted due to un-seasonal rains but the Indians had the last laugh when they turned the tables in the third and final Test match with Farrokh Engineer, late Dilip Sardesai, Gundappa Vishwanath and Wadekar himself contributing to the Indian total so that their feared spinners - B S Chandrashekar, S Venkatraghavan and B S Bedi - could spell their cast on the Englishmen.

With flash floods threatening to washout the second Test match at Trent Bridge, starting tomorrow, and the Indians just about managing to save the first Test by the skin of their teeth at Lord's, the series could well be decided on the outcome of the third and final Test match at The Oval from August 9-13.

However, for that to happen the current Indian batsmen will have to take a leaf out of the 1971 team and that is to play for the team by giving a better batting display than they did at Lord's. Just one or two batsmen contributing to the total will not help the team's cause whatsoever.

What was most disturbing was that the experienced Indian batsmen got out after getting starts against a depleted English attack, without the services of Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard.

Sachin Tendulkar looked good for a big score in the first innings but was over cautious against Monty Panesar and paid the penalty, Sourav Ganguly was well set in both the innings but failed to convert them into substantial contributions and V V S Laxman started off in a fine fashion in the second innings but let the team down with a poor defensive shot.

Even though Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, had the ability to play the waiting game and retrieve the situation, he disappointed the most with a couple of discreet shots.

However, it was a welcome sign to see youngsters like Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni shoulder the responsibility for a change and contribute in a big in saving the match.

So was our so-called inexperienced seam bowling, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth bowled badly on the first day of the Test match but came back strongly at the nick of time before the England batsmen could take a strangle hold over the match.

Even though veteran leg spinner Anil Kumble disappointed yet again, it was heartening to see Rudra Pratap Singh swing the ball both ways and trouble the England batsmen, including the only century maker Kevin Pietersen.

But for Indians to win the series, their batsmen will have to put enough runs on the board so that their bowlers can have a go at the rival batsmen and the Indian fielding, which was pathetic to say the least at Lord's, will have to improve drastically and support their young bowlers.

Probably if the Indian think-tank create a place for in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh and their bowling spearhead Anil Kumble finds his winning ways, we can still pull off a big upset even if the world thinks that we were up against a second string England side.

Will history repeat itself? Let's hope so at least for India's sake!

• The ‘ageless’ wonder [Posted Tuesday , April 22, 2008 ]
• Symonds is no saint [Posted Monday , February 25, 2008 ]
• Where are the quality spinners? [Posted Friday , February 08, 2008 ]
• [Posted Friday , February 08, 2008 ]