The Indians could not have benefited much

In days long ago, when cricketing tours used to be leisurely sojourns of five months and six months duration, there used to be any number of three or four day games. On a tour of England a touring team would normally play ten or twelve first class games before the first Test. On a tour of Australia, there would be half a dozen such matches before the Test series got underway.

These days, when tours have been shortened to two or three months and when the emphasis is on one day internationals a touring team is lucky to have two first class games before the first Test to help them to acclimatize themselves to the wicket and weather conditions. In such a scenario, any additional game that the tourists may get in between Tests becames very important.

The Indian touring team had just two first class matches before the first Test. Not yet fully acclimatized to the conditions, they welcomed the fact that they would get another such game before the second Test. It was also hoped that the game against Tasmania at Hobart would help them regroup after the debacle in the first Test at Adelaide.

By the end of the four day game, it was doubtful whether the Indians achieved their objective of trying to find solutions to their problems. To be candid, the Hobart tie did not even provide the kind of match practice the Indians would have wanted. What is the point in playing on an absolutely flat track where the ball comes slowly on to the bat, on which the turn - if any - is slow and predictable and on which batting is the easiest thing in the world. Such surfaces only succeed in boosting the batsmen's averages and shattering the spirits of the bowlers. More important, it is hardly the kind of match practice the tourists would have wanted prior to playing in Melbourne, where the pitch, if anything, is bound to be faster and more bouncy than the one they encountered at Adelaide.

The benign nature of the pitch and the cold, blustery conditions made it a difficult game for the Indians, even if it ended in a tame draw, which the Tasmanians dominated. The Indian bowlers were seen in poor light but coach Kapil Dev was quick to defend them saying that they were not used to bowling in such conditions. He criticised the schedule saying ``I can't understand why we were made to play this game in Hobart. Its cold here and the wicket is flat, very different from what we will get at Melbourne. This four day game should have been played in Melbourne so that we could have prepared better.''

The itinerary however is the prerogative of the host country and there is little the Indians can do but grin and bear it. For example, the Hobart game ended on December 20 and the next game is the second Test which commences on December 26. A gap of five days between games is too much particularly in these days of short, quick tours and when a touring team can be at almost any venue in a matter of hours.

As to the match solving their problems, the Indians could not have learned much. There can be little change in the bowling line up for the Test. Harbhajan Singh, with figures of no wicket for 141 runs, had a disastrous game. The young off spinner seems a shadow of his former confident self. Neither did the medium pacers cover themselves with glory. The three of them - Venkatesh Prasad, Kumaran and Mohanty - sent down a total of 73 overs without taking a wicket. Kanitkar was given only five overs and only Bharadwaj came off. His fastish off breaks saw him take three of four wickets that fell to bowlers.

Ramesh and Laxman, who could well open the batting at Melbourne, had partnerships of five and 64. It was good to see Rahul Dravid return to form and that was one really positive feature from the Indians' point of view. He, Ganguly and Tendulkar will of course take their usual places in the batting order. The problematic No 6 position has not been solved with both Bharadwaj and Kanitkar still having equal claims on the slot. Bharadwaj did not come off with the bat but was capable enough with the ball while Kanitkar came good with a half century in the first innings.