5 lessons for the Indian team from the tour of England

74 days between the first tour match and the last tour match. Both teams had a chance to drub the other and the T20 was as close an affair as possible, although MS ‘Last Over Hero’ Dhoni couldn’t repeat his heroics.Coaches toppled, new ones arrived. There were controversies and pleadings, charges and fines, booing and ovations. The longest Test series the present bunch of Indians have ever played offered lessons galore. It takes a Dhoni to survive three Test series like these (0-4 and 0-4 previously), and come out unscathed as far as popularity standing in India is concerned. Nevertheless, the players would do well to etch these lessons on their locker doors, lest they forget them.

#1 All it takes is a dropped catch

Holding Ravindra Jadeja responsible for the disaster that ensued from Day 1 of the 3rd Test would be a cardinal sin. Nevertheless, the wise will still see the lesson embedded in it.

It doesn’t take much time in cricket for things to turn around. The cricket pendulum is a harsh one, sometimes boomeranging on you when you expect it the least. At the end of the second Test, Indians were on a high, having won on a green top at Lord’s, Englishmen flayed by their media and former cricketers.

First day of Test 3, Alastair Cook is dropped and gets a standing ovation when he returns at lunch, not out. Later in the day, an out of form Ian Bell survives a close LBW call. The fortunes change. Catches get dropped regularly in the Indian slip cordon. Their batsmen start struggling. Their bowlers hardly have anything to defend. It turns into a carnage. By the time, James Anderson and Co. were done with the Indians, they seemed a tired and devastated bunch and the victory at Lord’s seemed an aberration.

#2 Over-confidence doesn\'t help

In cricket, it is not over till it is over, they say. It couldnt be more apt summarizing the shorter format games in the series.

After smashing England to take the ODI series, the Indians conceded the fifth match. On a good batting pitch, they chose to test themselves chasing and let England score too many in the slog overs. The same story continued in the T20 where Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli were virtually making mince-meat of the chase before things turned around completely. The Indians eventually lost the game by 3 runs.

Both those losses were the result of nothing but over-confidence and some tight English bowling, losses that could have been victories had Indians been as efficient as the English were towards the end of the test series, when it came to converting the chances.

#3 The best can bite the dust

Before the series, Virat Kohli was Indias superstar and by most accounts, one of the worlds best batsmen. His ODI record is virtually untouchable for his age-group. He has scored centuries in Australia and South Africa. England was a final frontier of sorts to prove he belonged. He failed, and how.

This game is a great leveller. Virat Kohli scored his first half century of the tour in the last match, the lone T20. One wonders, if he would ever be the same brash individual known for mouthing expletives every time he scores a century.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was Indias workhorse. He was Indias answer to everything England threw in the first tests. 5-fers, consecutive half centuries and great grit he was on target to break quite a few all-rounder records for a series. Then he got tired and waned. The jaded Bhuvi, who threw his wicket away in the last couple of innings without a fight, was just a shadow.

Long tours could be torturous and once you are on the downhill there is no stopping the slide. Indians will do well to remember that agony. The story holds true for Shikhar Dhawan as well, who was eventually dropped from the Test team, a big change for a man who could do no wrong just six months ago.

#4 India are a different side while attacking

This was seen in full force during the ODIs as well as in the second Test. It is a mystery as to why the Indian skipper swings so much between aggression and stoic, almost stolid defence. Probably, he feels comfortable with his spinners who give him an edge. Probably Ishant gave him a world class option that day on a track that offered some bounce. Probably, at most times, he feels Indias pace bowling attack is not nearly good enough.

Whatever is the reason, Dhoni attacking makes the Indian team a completely different outfit. They are sharp on the field, they put a lot of pressure on the batsmen and they squeeze the opponents to suffocation. One wonders if Dhoni under an aggressive Shastri could show more of that attitude when they play a scary series down under later in the year.

#5 Tests and ODIs are different monsters

For long, Indians have tended to forget their overseas debacles in the wake of crushing victories in ODI tournaments. India is the No.1 ODI team for a reason. They are good at it. They have the team for it, although Australia is one place they could still be vulnerable. Nevertheless, next to South Africa they have the most versatile team. However, Tests are different monsters. Your off-stump is your citadel and the Indians were wandering like shepherds thrown out of their fortress.

The Test and ODI series just confirmed what most Indians and the players already know and havent worked on sufficiently they are unsure about their off-stump when the ball moves and the bowlers cannot bowl even four out of six balls on the same spot when needed, Tests or ODIs. What they do about it before heading to Australia for a gruelling Test series and the World Cup remains to be seen.