With cricket tours following one another in such quick succession, there is often very little time for teams to sit back and analyse each series. For example, we are already looking ahead at the prospects of playing a one-day series in Pakistan while India are looking ahead to their tour of Australia. But each team does do a quick once-over of the pluses and minuses in a side before embarking on the next challenge. I will first deal with the Indian side.
The batting looks in fine touch, with the only worry being whether Sourav Ganguly's wound has healed fully. Sachin Tendulkar did not have a very good Test series, but he found his touch in the one-dayers. Traditionally he has done well in Australia, so it is a good sign for India that their batting mainstay is looking good before this crucial tour.
The third member of the triumvirate, Rahul Dravid, has been in great form over the last 12 months. He will have a crucial role to play in the Tests. As far as I am concerned, he is the one to watch out for.
Like Tendulkar, V V S Laxman also has a liking for the Australian attack, and the latter rate him very highly. He has a Test century in Australia, something neither Ganguly nor Dravid can boast of, so he has to be counted among the key players on the tour.
While the batting has always been the stronger aspect of India's cricket, the bowling does have a couple of problems. Zaheer Khan did really well in New Zealand and will look forward to performing on the bouncy pitches of Australia. Ashish Nehra, however, is returning from an injury break, and that can at times be hard for a bowler.
The Indian selectors have chosen the experience of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh over the form of Murali Kartik. It must have been a tough call, but three spinners was never an option for a tour Down Under. We played the spinners pretty well right through the tour, and the Australians also handled them with ease. It will be a challenge to these spinners to now perform in the not-so-favourable conditions of Australia.
As far as we are concerned, we must not allow the disappointment of not making the TVS Cup final cloud over the benefits we have reaped on this tour, particularly in the Tests. Earlier teams from New Zealand always struggled against the spin here, but this time round we were well prepared, thanks to the efforts of coach Ashley Ross.
It was great to see Craig McMillan and Scott Styris contribute in both forms of the game. It was unfortunate that we missed Shane Bond right through the tour, and Nathan Astle for the Tests. The top order and our bowling at the death suffered as a result of their absence, but Daryl Tuffey toiled hard in both forms of the game to ensure that we always got early breakthroughs. The only game in which we did not manage one was the Hyderabad game, but before that Tuffey was always consistent.
Perhaps we will have to work on our bench strength in the future, and look to widen our pool of players. It is significant that the side that has the greatest depth, Australia, finally walked away with the trophy. As I mentioned earlier, we play a lot of cricket these days, and injuries are an occupational hazard for the modern cricketer. Today, more than ever before, each side needs a large pool of world-class players to ensure that quality replacements are always at hand, because that is the only way a team can achieve consistency.
We look at every tour of the subcontinent as a stepping stone in our mission of achieving success in all parts of the cricket world. We had our chances on this particular tour, and while we did not convert most of them, I hope the players remember the lessons picked up here so that in future tours we will emerge better finishers than this time round.
(Gameplan)
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