Offence is the best form of defence - so goes one of the biggest clichés in the sporting book. Cliché or not, it is an adage that most teams would do well to follow. India's refusal to do so cost them dearly today. For a batting line-up missing Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to conjure up 377 - just to make Sri Lanka bat again - was a tall order in itself. But the approach adopted has ensured that defeat is the only likely outcome. All hopes of a Headingley/Kolkata type of miracle were buried the moment the Indians decided to abandon a cavalry charge in favour of digging trenches. Test cricket has seen three memorable rearguard actions in recent times. Mike Atherton and Jack Russell were pivotal in defying South Africa at Johannesburg in 1995-96, Atherton's 185* (10 hours, 43 minutes) the magnum opus of a career that defined defensive obduracy.

On England's next visit to the veldt, it was the South Africans who wrested an honourable draw in the face of certain defeat. Following on 210 runs behind, they batted for all of two and a half days, Gary Kirsten's 275 a monument to the defensive art.

Then of course, there was Eden. The Gardens in Kolkata saw Laxman and Rahul Dravid engineer an unbelievable turnaround against Australia, paving the way for Harbhajan Singh to bowl India back into the series. Laxman's 281 and Dravid's 180 should be rated over Atherton's and Kirsten's efforts simply because they helped the team to an improbable victory - as opposed to the honourable draw.

But watching India bat on the fourth day, you could see that the Kolkata torch hadn't been carried forward. There was little attempt to score at a rapid clip and you always nursed the uneasy feeling that a quick wicket or two would spell doom.

Not that anyone was advocating the Light Brigade type of foolhardiness. But mere blocking serves little purpose when you have to see out 13 hours to save a Test match. Laxman and Dravid kept the scorers busy throughout their partnership in Kolkata, with the result that victory joined imminent defeat or a draw as an option. The rate at which India scored today, it was doubtful whether they would even manage the 376 in two days.

Test cricket has more twists in the tail than the average short-story collection, as anyone fortunate enough to have been present at Headingley, Eden Gardens or Sydney (1993-94, when Fanie de Villiers ambushed Australia) would tell you. There is no such thing as an easy fourth-innings target. Even teams as accomplished as Australia have stumbled frequently chasing low scores.

India made no attempt to test Sri Lanka's resolve or resilience under pressure. That was the saddest part of this debacle. Even the misguided fools that led the charge of the Light Brigade are remembered as tragic heroes. There's a lesson in there somewhere. When faced with death, at least wave the sword about a little. Don't drop it and run. The meek inherit nothing in the sporting world.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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