Indians flowering into a good side

The final day of the St. Lucia Test was a mirror image of the final day at Antigua.

India needed nine wickets here and managed only six. The talent and resilience of Brian Lara, and a daylong downpour not necessarily in that order eventually prevented India from achieving a well-deserved win. As a result, the scoreline after two Tests reads 0-0, when it so easily could have read 2-0 in India's favour.

The Indians did not make a single false step in this Test. Virender Sehwag was at his murderous best.

When a player has such a large repertoire of shots, he will invariably score big runs on his day. There were patches of impatience every now and then, but he capitalized on a pitch where batting was easiest on the first day.

The middle order was also in tremendous nick, and for the hosts, the absence of Fidel Edwards was really costly. In his absence, Jerome Taylor showed occasional flashes of aggression, but this formidable Indian batting line-up showed their class by putting up their second straight 500-plus score.

This Indian team is really flowering into a good side. I met the team at Antigua, and was impressed by their enthusiasm and confidence.

It's also great to see that Indian cricket is moving out of the big cities into smaller centres, and that is a reflection of the good work that has been carried out by the game's administrators over the last couple of decades.

I was particularly impressed by the young lad from Uttar Pradesh, and was also surprised to know that wicketkeeper Dhoni comes from an environment that is not known to churn out sportsmen.

Kaif in focus

Mohammad Kaif is also a player I always look out for, and I hope his century helps him realise that he belongs to this level of the game.

India have a fine leader in Rahul Dravid, and it is great to see that captaincy has not affected the flow of runs from his bat. All these developments augur well for Indian cricket, and the results will not take long in coming if they keep playing well.

The situation is not as rosy for the West Indians.

My major concern is the slowness of the wickets in the two Tests that have been played so far.

I heard Ian Bishop commenting on air that the practice wickets at St. Lucia were pacy strips where it was difficult to get bat on ball.

I agree with him when he asks how such pitches are available for practice while sleeping beauties are provided for the Tests. We keep complaining about the lack of pace bowlers in the Caribbean, but if lifeless pitches are churned out for international cricket, why would youngsters be attracted to fast bowling?

The only high point for the West Indians was Lara's knock. He was exceptional under the circumstances, and eventually succeeded in saving his team from the jaws of defeat. However, even he would admit that a draw was salvaged because of the lost day.

Both teams now take a break, and perhaps that is a bonus for the West Indians. They need to get back to the drawing board and iron out their problem areas.

For the Indians, the disappointment of not yet winning a Test must be immense.

These are moments when it is easy to get disheartened, but they must not let their enthusiasm flag. Perhaps a small break from the game will help them refocus on the remaining Tests.