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The aggression the bowlers showed at Old Trafford should rub off on to batsmen
India must expand the art of aggro-culture
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan at Old Trafford
August 31, 2007
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'For one hour in the field - the first period of the run-chase - India displayed more positives than they had over several hours in earlier games'
© Getty Images
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Conventional wisdom says the fourth one-day international at Old Trafford was one India would rather forget; it was a scrap India had got on top of by creeping under the skin of the opposition, and losing from there would have brought a sense of hopelessness. Yet it was also a game they can take a lot of heart from.
For one hour in the field - the first period of the run-chase - India displayed more positives than they had over several hours in earlier games. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, their best effort on the field in a long while - throwing punches fearlessly, catching eagerly and mouthing off with abandon. Their ground fielding was only marginally better than earlier but the buzz was unmistakable. Led by Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik, the younger players took it upon themselves to pump up the volume and inject the side with much-needed energy.
One moment, when Kevin Pietersen was new to the crease, summed up the high-voltage approach. Rahul Dravid, after a chat with the umpires, asked Yuvraj, at point, to cool off; Karthik, standing at cover, immediately came to his rescue and shot off an explanation. Nothing, not even their captain, was going to shut them up.
Dravid too was more energised than in recent days. The modest total of 212 forced him to set attacking fields right through England's innings and crucially Dravid did not hesitate to put men around the bat, providing the spinners all the support they could ask for.
It was, as Nasser Hussain in the commentary box reiterated several times, the aggression India have been missing. They hardly landed up at Southampton and Edgbaston and even the victory at Bristol came with a sense of fatigue. Old Trafford may have thrown up an alternative path: with three matches to go, and the series almost out of their reach, India could transfer their aggression to the bat as well. Their batting, Bristol excepted, has been jaded and there cannot be a better time to start expressing themselves freely.
"We came to 212 with some good contributions lower down the order from Zaheer [Khan] and Piyush [Chawla]," Dravid after Thursday's match. "In the end, though, I thought we should have scrapped a lot harder and got to 240. That was certainly gettable." A lower-order scrap would have got them there but what about a top-order breaking free of the shackles?
The line-up may still need tinkering - Karthik at No. 3 does not seem to be the answer - but it is the mindset that needs to change
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The line-up may still need tinkering - Karthik at No. 3 does not seem to be the answer - but it is the mindset that needs to change. India are approaching these games as if they are Tests, getting into their stride and building innings, but caution can only take you so far. That approach worked well in the Test series, gradually grinding out the opposition, but the one-day game demands a more proactive approach.
Lively young men such as Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have pottered around at the crease. They are facing good bowlers on home turf but doing very little to rattle them. Up against a predominantly back-of-a-length attack they are finding it tough to break the shackles. Yuvraj's clean-striking has been the most refreshing sight and he needs to be rewarded with a push up the order. Keeping him at No. 5 is only adding to his burden
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It is this younger batch that will carry India through the next few years and into the next World Cup. Four or five of the current team will not be around for the event and it is up to the rest to form the nucleus of a side for the future. India are currently in no-man's land, neither winning games nor building for the future, and run the risk of sliding further.
It is time for the next generation to be thrown in the deep and told to back their aggressive instincts. The series might be decided in Headingley but India need to look at this as the start of a new chapter.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is assistant editor of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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 Read Comments (14)
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Comments have now been closed for this article
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ok guys as indians we need to wake up and smell the indian tea > where are we going with this team sourve can't play short ball tendulker never wins it for the team so my team go with young blood Youvraj as a captain sourve send home and please sourve if reading this for god sake please retire man you are the worst player india ever made if you get out bad for the team cause you are a opner and if you make fifty very bad cause you use up so many balls and if you make hundered we never win that match cause you take like 150 balss for that so please go home give new blood a chance you gonna be too old for next worldcup anyway
Posted by sunni on September 01 2007, 14:12 PM GMT
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Just a thought, Rahul Dravid was saying that the team is missing a genuine alrounder but I can't understand that when team was selected Dravid must have been consulted by the selection committee and now when we know that we need one then why can't they send for Pathan or even Sehwag as he is a good off-spinner inplace of Munaf who not fit at all.They both can bring aggression as well.My ideal one-day Indian team is Ganguly,Sehwag,Tendulkar,Dravid,Yuvraj,Utthappa, Dhoni,Pathan,P Chawla, Z Khan,garkar/RP/Sreesanth. Just a Thought.They can keep Raina,M Tiwary,R Powar, M Kaif as standby.
Posted by sukhi on September 01 2007, 13:55 PM GMT
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After seeing successful Test Series, now india struggling to keep the good phase of game in One dayers, due to lack of agresssion doesn't seems good progression in one days. England is dominating all sorts of game and keeping india defending for the loss of series. now india finding the ways to keep series live. But top order failing is giving more pressure to middle order.. That's why Dhoni failing and not making his mark of game in this series.. and mainly after loss of top five india game is over.. not much contributions are coming at the lower order.. they are making their way very fast.. especially my main concern to give boost for the younger players. Ahead of 20-20 world cup India should have choosen those players was selected for 20-20 to atleast give them freeness to play in the international grounds.. now they have to go with lack of experience. After seeing fitness & aggression of Ganguly, Munaf, Agarkar, Powar make opponents more freedom to ride on India by dominent.
Posted by satyasainvs on September 01 2007, 12:08 PM GMT
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Yeah, I haven't been watching any of the cricket I have to admit as I do not have Sky. Anyway, I have been keeping relatively up to date through Cricinfo. I have noticed that Dhoni hasn't been on good form lately, particularly against Flintoff. Yuvraj is a good batsman and perhaps he is suited to be batting in the lower-order just like a McCullum or a Pollock does. He has the ability to play aggressively and boost reasonable totals to towering ones. As mentioned in the article, Karthik batting at 3 may not be an answer to India's problems and putting Yuvraj up the order may not be the right thing to do either. Aggression can be effective in some situations and can put the opponent on the back foot but that also increases the risk of losing wickets when batting or leaking runs when fielding. Going back to Dhoni, he is a naturally aggressive batsman so he should be in the middle order where hopefully the top order has laid a good foundation. Then, he can play his strokes with freedom.
Posted by kpietersen89 on September 01 2007, 10:12 AM GMT
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I came across an excellent article on how Indian hockey fell by the wayside due to its failure to adapt to the power game that took over the field hockey. That article has drawn a parallel with Indian cricket as well. We tend to associate aggression with hard hitting and sledging. But a great example is Sri Lanka who have adapted a lot better than India. I think India will always produce very competent batsmen and bowlers through the years but unless the system changes we may not see many good fielders. India will be able to have a realistic shot at the WC only if the fielders are able to think like the Kiwis or Aussies - where they anticipate well and more importantly enjoy fielding. It might take us some years before this happens but for that the guys in the present U-15 and U-17 need to play in decent grounds where diving and sliding is possible. Hope BCCI is not just thinking along these lines but also is doing something about it!
Posted by Siddharth on September 01 2007, 06:54 AM GMT
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An important thing that the media has not given much importance is Team India post the Big 3 era. It's high time that the younger guys are brought into the playing eleven more regularly. Win or lose, it'll be more important to see some young players making some good contributions, especially in batting. Surely, Team India doesn't expect Rahul, Sachin & Sourav to win them WC 2011!
Posted by Siddharth on September 01 2007, 06:38 AM GMT
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India displayed admirable aggro in the 4th ODI. But the operative line in the article by Sid 'neither winning games nor building for the future' requires urgent attention.
It's time the Board took a longer perspective and selected a mix of experience and youth.Dead wood like Ganguly, who's just playing for his place in the team, perenial under-achievers like Agarkar, am-i-fit-or-not Munaf need to be amputated from the team URGENTLY.
A team with the experience of Dravid, Tendular, Zaheer, Yuvraj, Sehwag & Kaif added to the exuberance of Dhoni,Chawla,Uthappa,RP & Powar with Irfan, Tewari/Rohit S/Raina should have the required aggro , drive and direction.
The best batsman at no.3 - come rain, winter or sunshine. Dravid, who over the years has fashioned himself into a truly modern and professional one-day cricketer, should be at 3.
Yuvraj, Dhoni & co. should take care of the middle & lower order, with the tailenders taking firsthand lessons from the Bopara-Broad show.
Posted by Ashutosh on September 01 2007, 05:52 AM GMT
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I would like to mention that India is not at all aggressive in all departments of Cricket,especially batting which usedto be a hallmark few years back,bowlers used to make plans & strategy to stop Indian Batsmen from hitting all around the ground,well it clearly seems India have lost that Golden period.The only reason for that is the top order Batsmen like Tendulkar & Ganguly have lost their touch & their reflexes have slowed down,they are scoring at a very slow pace & take a lot of time to settle down,finally it is left to the lower order batsmen to increase the run rate with limited overs in their hand,well they should reliase the fact that they are playing the modern one day cricket & not a test match.
Selectors in India should realize the fact the One Day Cricket is not for the Oldies but for young generation where aggresion & enthusiasm is needed even though they are lacking in Class.I feel pity for young players like Uthappa who are getting matured only by age & not by experienc
Posted by rishu on September 01 2007, 05:40 AM GMT
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No way is aggression the answer for India's success in future. Staring and mouthing off the opposition will never do any help. It may seem fruitful but not always will that work. Talking about aggression of Yuvraj and Karthik, what happened to this aggression while facing a second-grade attack (keeping in mind Hoggard and Harmison). Why was it not there when Bopara and Broad were batting. Is this aggression a pill that has its effect for only one hour of play. It's only the SKILL that matters and nothing else. We should find players who are skillful, consistent and able to handle pressure, adjust to the circumstances and play accordingly. Talking about giving way to young lads, look at the guys like Gilchrist, Symonds, Gibbs, Kallis, Pollock, Muralitharan, Chanderpaul who are in thirties and still passionate about the game. It's not age that matters but the passion for the game. Unless India finds guys with all-round capabilities who are able to perform in pressure, future is gloomy.
Posted by Bharath on September 01 2007, 04:54 AM GMT
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i think the indian team has great potential but i do beleive that we lack alot of consistancy in the fielding department....I also think the batting order is all over the place and that to compete with teams like Austrailia we must find the proper order and sharpen our skills. I think Kaif should be brought back to the squad because he is a superb fielder and has proven in the past to be a great batsmen. Okay, if he fails when given another chance than forget about him but i do beleive the indian selectors should give him one more chance. We need his fielding!
Posted by canadianrishi on September 01 2007, 01:50 AM GMT
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