Indian Captain Talks of Rest After India Win Nagpur Test against New Zealand

By Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

     There it is again. Another Test series that India wrap up and almost instantly there is talk of the need for rest and the ODIs end up paying the price for it. India though will feel proud that they managed to close out New Zealand after almost losing interest after two back to back draws.
     New Zealand really did not have a chance overnight. The task ahead of them was simply too much to take. They had pretty much lost the third Test of the India New Zealand series when they lost the first session to dramatic bowling spell from Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth who stepped up their game after Zaheer Khan was ruled out through a groin injury. Fewer teams can imagine coming back after being reduced to fifty for five on the first day of a Test match. New Zealand were no exception.

       Under pressure from two Indian openers ( Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir ) who do not know the meaning of slowing down, a rock-like figure who refuses to leave the crease ( Rahul Dravid on 191), and an Indian captain who found his groove ( Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 98 ), New Zealand simply did not have a response. And the result was that they were chasing 373 not as a target but as the total they would have to overcome as a matter of deficit before they could even think of making India bat.

        It became too easy in the end. The early session on the fourth day saw the Indian bowlers in high spirit and New Zealand too timid to try to even attempt a semblance of a fight. For New Zealand, it was the undoing of the dogged defiance, even terror, they had produced in the course of the first two Tests to effect two draws when they were expected to be easy targets for the no.1 Test team. While the final series result will read 1-0 in India’s favour after three Tests, it will not tell the tale of New Zealand’s fightback and ultimate submission.

      For India, it was a stupendous high and it had nothing to do with the ranking of their opponent. Not only had they fought their way back from unexpectedly treacherous situations, they discovered a batsman, a make shift all rounder in Harbhajan Singh who made the series memorable with his two back to back Tests, including his maiden Test century, that not only rescued India but also, fashioned their progress.

      Instead India were frustrated after two draws, the nature of the wickets and an opposition they plausibly did not want to compete with in between a hard nosed battle with Australia and an upcoming series against a smarting South African cricket team. It is also why Mahendra Singh Dhoni has requested a break between this Test series and the next.

       Dhoni spoke about the fact that rather than the international grind, including the Champions League Twenty20 2010 where he captains the Chennai Super Kings, he was mentally weary more than physically drained. And one cannot doubt that, knowing that the gap between series is not even a week in most cases these days in the crammed international calendar and all that plotting and planning, not to mention meticulous execution, would be heavy on the captain who heads the team that rules the world.

       India have not only touched the no.1 Test team spot, but have also had to contend with series arranged at the eleventh hour to ensure India played more Test cricket to keep up the points to keep them at the top. En route, they have had to deal with an increased work load and it is perhaps beginning to tell on the captain more than anyone else because India cannot play Test cricket in exclusivity. It has meant that Dhoni has earned himself a small break and hopefully time with Sakshi will make him realize that while being with his wife is a different kind of thrill, the prospect of South Africa should eventually reengage his cricket sense one more. The break from the New Zealand ODIs should serve that purpose.