Looking ahead to the decider

Let us for the moment, keep the farcical end to the largely dull proceedings in the drawn fourth Test aside, think in the larger perspective of the entire series and look ahead.

The most positive aspect of the contest is that the teams go into the final Test at Kingston starting on May 18 at level pegging and with everything to play for. This is the best scenario for any series. Only once before, in 1976 have these two teams made it to the decider in the Caribbean all square. Interestingly enough, that Test too was played at Kingston and it is to be hoped that the unhappy aspects of that game are not repeated.

Looking ahead to the decider, it would appear that the West Indies have more reasons to be optimistic than India, notwithstanding the fact that the teams are level. Past record and present form are two very important criteria for analysing prospects. And on past record, there is little doubt that the West Indies hold all the aces.

A record of five wins and three draws at Kingston is something that will give the home team immense comfort. The pitch at Sabina Park is probably the fastest and bounciest in the Caribbean and that is bound to be a source of encouragement for their present speed quartet, even if they are not in the class of their predecessors who bowled West Indies to victories on this ground in 1962 (twice), 1976, 1983 and 1989.

On present form, however, there is little to choose between the two teams. The strengths and weaknesses of the contestants have been all too obvious. But if there is the lurking doubt that the momentum built up by India in drawing the first Test and winning the second is not being maintained, it exists with good reason. The ten-wicket defeat at Bridgetown and the high-scoring draw at Antigua have raised more question marks for the Indian side than for the home team.

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After the defeat in the third Test, I had written about the lack of options the Indians had even if they wanted to force a change in strategy. The Antigua Test proved this and now with Anil Kumble out of action, the team management does have problems on the eve of the decider.

True, India's main strike bowler in the last decade has not got a very impressive record abroad, a fact augmented by his bowling on the present tour. But there is little doubt that even when he is not taking wickets, Kumble's presence is always a source of inspiration for his younger teammates. Harbhajan Singh, for one, has made it clear that he bowls well in tandem with Anilbhai.

There is no point in crying over spilt milk though and one has to look ahead. But what can the Indians do to put up a match-winning squad? Do they retain the line-up of three seam bowlers and one spin bowler, something they have been sticking to since such a quartet pulled off that notable triumph at Port of Spain? Or do they go in with Harbhajan and Sarandeep with the pace bowlers not exactly covering themselves with glory in the last two Tests?

And what about the batting? Do they retain Shiv Sundar Das who is going through a lean patch? Or will they risk opening the batting with Wasim Jaffer and Sanjay Bangar?

Whichever script they opt for, the question marks are bound to remain. For, the opening duo and the bowling attack have presented the two big worries for the team management. The success of Ajay Ratra has solved the puzzle over the stumper's slot but there are no immediate solutions to the two remaining problems.

The bowling in particular has worn an emaciated look. The fact that Sachin Tendulkar sent down 34 overs in a Test match innings tells its own tale. True, this was because Kumble was injured but in its own way this symbolises the sorry state of the bowling.

When the series started, it was said that it was hard to see the West Indies attack bowl out the strong Indian batting line-up twice in a match. Well, they have not only done it in one Test, but in two.

By comparison, it was reckoned that the Indian bowlers had a better chance of bowling out the West Indies. But they have done so only at Port-of-Spain and in the bargain the home team have run up totals of 501, 394 and 629 for nine declared in the three other Tests.

The failure to defend a total of 513 for nine declared shows how limp the bowling line-up is. The best hope then for Kingston would be to hope that the batting comes good so that the match could at best be drawn. This is not an impossible task for, notwithstanding the horrendous run of Tendulkar that has brought him eight runs in his last four innings, and the shocking double collapse at that jinxed venue Bridgetown there is little doubt that the batting has risen to the occasion.

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Jaffer's form at the top inspires confidence in whoever his partner may be at Kingston while Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Venkatsai Laxman have all played innings of high quality. The success of Ratra means that India does have some depth in batting.

The pitch at Sabina Park will be not be as amiable as the wicket at the Recreation Ground in Antigua and that is one aspect the Indian batsmen will have to keep in mind as they approach the all important game. After all, a drawn series in the Caribbean will not be a bad result, even if the Indians were installed - quite illogically in my view - as favourites in some circles as they arrived in the West Indies.