The Indians were thoroughly outplayed in the series against South Africa, and the defeat at the Centurion further emphasized the listless attitude of the visitors. Agreed that a tour to South Africa is not an easy one by any standards, but if at all there was any chance of subduing the South Africans, this was the occasion. The Indians were sent early enough to acclimatize themselves to the conditions in South Africa. They also had the opportunity of playing a good number of matches in the triangular series. Another factor in their favour was the lack of support for Shaun Pollock in South Africa's fast bowling department. Yet the Indians came a cropper and were in fact beaten with consummate ease.

The Englishmen are already here, awaiting the arrival of the hosts, and the sore memories will probably be forgotten in a week's time. The crowded itinerary provides a buffer for the Indians, as they are bound to do well on home soil. It is a pity that the established players can get away without performing when required, while the fringe ones are meted out prompt punishment.

The Denness drama not withstanding, the Centurion match was an opportunity for the visitors to salvage some pride by acquitting themselves well. It came as a shock to see the Indians crumble on the final day, especially after fighting well at St. George's Park. It was a reflection of the reckless attitude infecting the whole team that even Sachin Tendulkar played in an indifferent manner. On the whole, the line-up batted like millionaires, which made it easy on the South African bowlers. I am not having a go at the elite Indian batsmen, but it was rather strange to see that there was hardly any fight put up by extremely capable cricketers.

The International Cricket Council has made it very clear that the Centurion game is unofficial, and thus the home team was a worthy winner of the series by a 1-0 margin. Although the margin appears slender, this was a tour the Indians would want to forget in a hurry. It was ironic that the focus of the entire cricketing fraternity was on an unofficial Test. The Indians kicked up a lot of dirt, and that should have been enough reason for them to have done better. The tug of war between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the ICC still continues, and it is incredible that some newspapers had the audacity to suggest the expulsion of India from the ICC, proof that Indians in general are guilty of giving too much of importance to alien reports and views. It is about time that the Indian scribes wrote their own views rather than pick up anything and everything from abroad.

Getting back to the Indian team, it was evident that there were very few gains from this tour. It was heartening to see Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta and Shiv Sunder Das do well, although the little fellow Das has to convert good starts into big scores. Dasgupta has impressed everyone with his determination with the bat and has shown improvement over the last few weeks behind the stumps. Sehwag has had a mixed bag, and it would be disappointing for him to miss out on a Test match when he is brimming with confidence.

The Englishmen are already here, awaiting the arrival of the hosts, and the sore memories will probably be forgotten in a week's time. The crowded itinerary provides a buffer for the Indians, as they are bound to do well on home soil. It is a pity that the established players can get away without performing when required, while the fringe ones are meted out prompt punishment. It is now back to the same two-card trick of playing on rank turners and notching up victories against visiting sides. There is nothing wrong with that, but nothing good comes of remaining in the same pond all the time.

I might sound idealistic, and a few lips may curl, but the fact remains that highly rated world-class performers must lead the way in making this team a better unit. Considering that the Indians are playing away for most of the first half of 2002, it would be a good preparation to play on firm pitches in order to ensure that they are not embarrassed abroad. Have we not read and heard the same lines before? Yes, several times, and that is why one gets the feeling that nothing much will ever change in the Indian cricketing scenario.

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