A wake-up call to somnolent seniors

India's young guns put their hand up once more after the seniors copped it for the second successive match against the West Indies.

The seniors were guilty of taking the Windies attack lightly again and the result is that their form is suffering. Batting, more often than not, is a one mistake game. If the batsman is lucky then he may get dropped or the third umpire will signal a no ball after the on-field umpire has been uncertain about it.

Michael Clarke capitalised on this to get a century which led to his team winning the first Test against New Zealand in four days.

It was good to hear Virat Kohli say that he wants to make the best use of the form he is in, for it can desert you any time. When the going is good a batsman must cash in and not throw it away because once his form goes the confidence starts to ebb too, and then doubts start creeping in about everything in a batsman's mind. He starts asking if he is holding the bat properly, if his backlift is okay or if the feet are moving.

Dangerous habit

All kinds of thoughts enter the mind and when that happens a dismissal is just a ball away. Taking runs for granted is the most dangerous habit and once in the system, it takes a superhuman effort to get rid of it. The simple reason why Sir Don was so consistent is because he played every ball as if he was on zero. That way he used all his skills and his mental preparation to tackle it. India's top order haven't exercised their legs and lungs enough against the West Indies so far and if they think that in the harsher conditions in Australia it is simply going to fall in place, they will be in for a huge surprise.

What has been wonderful to see is the effort the young bowlers are putting in on pitches that are hardly helpful to them.

Umesh Yadav is getting the ball to bend late either way and at good speed too, and is causing problems for the West Indian batsmen. Vinay Kumar too has been quite magnificent and if he can get the white ball to move the way he has been doing then just imagine what he would be able to do with the red ball. For a long time I had been asking for Praveen Kumar to be thought about for Test matches too, and it was only because of the swing and movement he was getting with the white ball.

Vinay Kumar, too, is pretty much the same type of bowler. He doesn't have the publicity that some others are getting, but isn't it better to have someone who is part of the work ethic and ethos of team India than someone with a history of injuries?

Ashwin took a bit of a battering, but that will only help to have this thinking cricketer stay firmly rooted and strive to be better. India, once again allowed the lower order to thwart them with Ravi Rampaul enjoying himself with some power hitting. That at least set a target for an interesting finish.

Virat and Rohit were a joy to watch, with their approach and quick thinking. Their stroke production and running between the wickets made the pulses quicken. Hopefully, it will wake up some of the somnolent, casual ones too.

— Professional Management Group