A batting debacle

India's fortunes after Rahul Dravid was appointed captain can be split up into two distinct periods. From the start of Sri Lanka's tour to India trip to the Caribbean is the first period when India were on a blazing streak, winning 18 and losing six matches. The golden run included thumping series victories against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England, and a creditable draw against South Africa. The tour of the West Indies was the beginning of the slippery slide. The one-run defeat in the second ODI ended a record 17 consecutive successful chases. Since that series India have won only three and lost eight of its matches. The failure to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy is the latest in a growing list of disappointments. What has changed between now and then? Quite a lot really.

The telling difference has been the collective slump the batsmen have gone through. During the first period they averaged 30.7 per dismissal and scored at 5.27 an over. If you think that's impressive, check out those figures while chasing - a scoring-rate of 5.61 and a mind-boggling average of 55.7 per wicket. India chased down four targets in excess of 275 during that time, the narrowest margin of victory being five wickets and 14 balls to spare. Compare those numbers with the corresponding ones for the second period. Since the tour of the West Indies, India have averaged 29.5 while batting first and scored at 4.83 per over and while chasing those figures plummet to a paltry 22.6 and 4.65.

Apart from Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Kaif, all the other batsmen, Irfan Pathan included, average significantly lower since the tour of the West Indies. The crippling blow has been the drop in form of Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni - the architects of several perfectly executed chases. Another telling stat is the scarcity of big innings. In the first period the batsmen scored six centuries and 31 fifties in 24 ODIs (Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni accounted for five hundreds and 20 fifties) while in the second they managed only two centuries and 13 fifties in 13 matches.

The partnership stats also show a sizable difference for each wicket. The largest reductions are for the second, third and sixth wickets which reflect the poor form that has plagued Pathan, Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni. Dhoni and Yuvraj in particular were responsible for the average partnership for the sixth wicket being 54.08 in the first period.

While the damage caused by the batting failure is far greater, the bowlers also have performed worse than the previous season. During the golden run up to the West Indies series, Pathan took 25 wickets for 545 runs at 21.80 in his first spells. Since then, however, Pathan's waywardness while leading the attack has cost India dearly. He's bowled a total of 39 overs in first spells, leaked 217 runs and taken just six wickets at 36.06 apiece. Harbhajan's wicket-taking ability has also waned. While he remains as economical as before, conceding 3.76 per over after the West Indies tour, he has managed to take only 11 wickets in his last 13 games. Contrast this with his performance before going to the Caribbean - 24 wickets in 17 ODIs at 3.79 per over.

However, the cause for India's drastic drop in form has been their poor batting: even during their hot streak, the bowlers often conceded 250-plus totals, but the batsmen were consistently able to chase them down.