India continue to dominate at home

There will be a tendency to dismiss as inconsequential India's 2-0 Test series victory over Zimbabwe. After all, it was a win achieved against the ninth-ranked Test nation - out of 10, it may be added. Also, as I stated in an earlier column, it does not matter that India is rated number seven or eight in the current Test rankings. In home conditions, the Indian team makes for rather formidable opposition, borne out by the fact that only one team has won a Test series here in the last 15 years. Even topranked Australia came a cropper in their bid to cross the "final frontier" a year ago.

That said, it must not be forgotten that India won both the matches in the series, something they were unable to achieve against the same team in their last series played here some 15 months ago. Andy Flower thwarted India from registering a second victory on that occasion, and the left-hander's failure this time was certainly one reason why India made a sweep of the series fairly comfortably, the rather unconvincing achievement of the New Delhi win notwithstanding. With all the huffing and puffing at the Feroz Shah Kotla, one must remember that the victory margin in the first Test was an innings and 101 runs.

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In the ultimate analysis, the series victory, besides underlining the fact that India continues to be awe-inspiring opposition at home, also served to confirm the strengths and weaknesses of the hosts. Touching upon the former, one must first mention the Harbhajan Singh - Anil Kumble duo. The two look well on course for taking their place in the honoured list of the great Indian spinning pairs of the past ­ Subhash Gupte and Vinoo Mankad, BS Chandrasekhar and Bishan Singh Bedi, and Erapalli Prasanna and Bedi. The two complement each other perfectly, and not unexpectedly, they have showered praise on one another.

In his 32nd year, Kumble, with over 300 wickets in the bag, is at the peak of his powers, while his partner, 10 years younger, obviously has his better days ahead of him. Indian cricket's strongest point, for some years now, has been its middle-order batting, but the time is not far off, I venture to guess, when this accolade passes on to the spin duo, who shared 28 wickets in the two Tests.

Speaking of the middle-order batting, the series against Zimbabwe saw this mighty aspect lose nothing of the aura surrounding it for some time now. Sachin Tendulkar made his customary hundred, while Rahul Dravid used the opportunity to get into his groove following treatment to a shoulder injury. If there is a sudden question mark over VVS Laxman, who only a year ago had scaled new peaks and was hailed as a Messiah, it is heartening to know that Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar are around to fill that vital number six slot in the middle order.

But what was most encouraging was Sourav Ganguly finally striking form. The Indian captain has always been a classy player, but his extended bad run saw some critics baying for his blood. I, for one, did not join the growing list of detractors. To me, Ganguly's case will always be paralleled with that of Gundappa Viswanath who too, more than once during his 91-Test career, went through a bad patch that led to the "experts" calling for his removal. The selectors, however, displayed more wisdom than the detractors, and the Karnataka stylist repaid this confidence handsomely. Similarly, I can only see Ganguly getting better and better from here on.

Shiv Sunder Das, I have always believed, is on course to overtaking Navjot Singh Sidhu as the finest Indian opening batsman in the post-Gavaskar period. The just-concluded series confirmed this view. It can also be taken as confirmed that Deep Dasgupta has played his last Test match. The doors are now wide open for Ajay Ratra, who can grab this opportunity to cement his place in the side as a specialist wicket-keeper whose batting is a bonus. Bangar, who opens the batting for Railways, could be a suitable contender to become Das' partner at the top of the order.

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There was little wrong with the new ball attack, with Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan capable of making the early breakthroughs. The latter was particularly impressive, his speed, swing, line and length all having the Zimbabwe batsmen hopping. As far as home conditions go, I emphasise, there seems to be no problem with the Indian attack, and it is to be hoped that Bangar will work on his bowling skills to become the kind of all-rounder that Indian cricket has needed for so long.

A word about the visitors. In a nutshell, they proved to be gallant losers. They were badly outplayed at Nagpur, but within a few days, they were able to raise the level of their game several notches to run India pretty close at the Kotla. Overall, however, their batsmen found Kumble and Harbhajan too hot to handle, while the bowlers were no match for the run-hungry Indian batsmen.

But a bright future surely awaits Ray Price. The 25-year-old left-arm spinner displayed tenacity of purpose, a tantalising length and line, besides biting turn on a pitch that was only slightly helpful. Even the reputation of being the best players of spin did not aid the Indian batsmen in overcoming the guiles of Price, and however long he plays the game, the fact that he dismissed Tendulkar three times running ­ twice for scores less than 50 ­ could remain his proudest achievement.