Ahmedabad Test, Day 2, Close
Wednesday, December 12, 2001

I remember feeling very excited when I saw SS Das for the first time. He looked very impressive on debut against Bangladesh, and made a fine hundred against Zimbabwe in Nagpur in only his third Test. But after a promising start, he has fallen away in his last few matches. His career hasn't taken off the way one would have expected it to, and he seems a little lost in the international arena.

Playing in subcontinental conditions against a fairly ordinary seam attack, Das should have dominated and made the most of this opportunity. Unfortunately, he scratched around, got to 41, and then got out. An opener needs greater consistency and should convert his starts into bigger scores. Das's failures are a cause for concern for him and the team.

One felt sorry for young Deep Dasgupta today. His performance behind the stumps wasn't great, but he showed good defensive technique against the new ball, before he was done in by lack of experience. Sweeping at a ball which pitched on the rough wasn't great shot-selection, especially because Nasser Hussain had set the field for that shot.

Dasgupta's wicketkeeping skills were clearly shown to be inadequate, though. Before this Test, I thought a couple of month's hard work would iron out his deficiencies, but I'm not so sure now. His batting talent far exceeds his wicketkeeping skills, and he'll have to make vast improvements with his glovework to remain a Test-match keeper.

England's performance was pretty much along expected lines. It was obvious that their gameplan would be to make the Indians work hard for their runs. India have the depth and firepower in their batting line-up, but Hussain gave every indication that he would attempt to dry up the runs. He'll probably go on the defensive at the first opportunity, and we might see Ashley Giles bowl over the wicket for most of tomorrow.

It will be a tough ask for India, and more than skill, their batsmen will need to display mental strength.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to S Rajesh.

More Sanjay Manjrekar
Day 2, Tea: England showed excellent character

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