When the big three did it for India

When India toured England in 2002 it was taken for granted that they would be meeting the hosts on level terms in the four Test series. Despite the overall dismal record in England – India had won just three Tests and lost 22 – there was this firm belief that this time around with some luck the Indians could even emulate their predecessors in 1971 and 1986, and win the series.

Much of the confidence stemmed from the strength of the batting. The line up was probably the most lustrous in the world with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman gracing the middle order. There was a certain weakness at the top of the order though Wasim Jaffer with his impeccable technique and unflappable temperament on the tour of the West Indies a couple of months before had raised some hopes of laying a solid foundation. The bowling in the hands of Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble had a balanced look about it.

The glorious triumph in the Natwest Trophy when the Indians successfully chased a target of 326 in the final boosted the team’s morale for the Test series. In the meantime the team management decided to elevate Virender Sehwag to open the innings and this seemed a positive move. The aggressive batsman and the technician in Jaffer could be trusted to provide a sound foundation upon which the mighty middle order could build.

England who enjoyed a formidable record at home were going to be tough opponents with players of the calibre of skipper Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff, Alec Stewart, Mark Butcher, Marcus Trescothick, Andy Caddick and Graham Thorpe being part of the line up. All in all it did seem to be a match up between equals.

And yet the English jinx continued to haunt the Indians who lost the first Test at Lord’s by 170 runs. In the second Test at Nottingham they were up against it with a first innings deficit of 260 runs. But the exalted triumvirate of Ganguly (99), Dravid (115) and Tendulkar (92) came good in the second innings and India scoring 424 for eight earned an honourable draw.

Clearly the Indians were coming into their own but there were only two Tests left and the Indians were still one down. And when the teams assembled at Headingley on the morning of August 22 the conditions looked certain to help swing bowlers. Given this it was a bit of a surprise when Ganguly opted to bat after winning the toss. It certainly presented a challenging proposition to his batsmen. And displaying exemplary discipline, commendable courage and impeccable technique, the players responded to their captain’s decision with batting that could not fail to win the admiration of those present. It was an overcast morning and the pitch with a tinge of green did encourage the seam bowlers. England had packed their side with such bowlers. Hoggard and Caddick opened the bowling and in support were Flintoff and Alex Tudor. The ball moved about alarmingly – even menacingly – and it required technically sound batting to survive, let alone score.

Negotiating deliveries that flew away, came in sharply or bounced disconcertingly was not going to be easy. The Indian teams of the fifties and sixties would have succumbed meekly in these adverse conditions. But a new generation of batsmen inspired by the technical excellence of Sunil Gavaskar and other greats of the seventies and eighties had learnt to combat bowler friendly conditions with a straight bat, a disciplined approach and a watertight technique.

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