A reckless batting performance doomed the Indians

Time and again I have been writing in this column about the importance of bowling a good line and length. Bowling the right line is something a fast bowler has to strive to achieve; he can always overcome the tendency to bowl slightly short by increasing his pace. The Zimbabwe bowlers learnt this lesson and reaped handsome rewards at Kochi against a complacent Indian team.

The home team batsmen helped them achieve their task rather easily with some atrocious batting. The two main culprits were the seniormost men in the Indian side - Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. When steady batting was the need of the hour, they got out to indiscreet shots. It is very disturbing to see senior players being so reckless and casual about their game.

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Zimbabwe players had a spring in their step; Douglas Hondo playing his one-dayer in India showed a lot of maturity. Bowling on a placid track, he stuck to the basics of good medium-pace bowling - good line and length. Hondo also made use of the freshness of the wicket, getting the ball to move off the seam, which accounted for Dinesh Mongia and VVS Laxman.

It amazes me, why India could score only 191 at Kochi, when only a few days back the same batsmen had put up a massive 319. The Indian team management owes everyone an answer.

The top order's abject surrender must be a cause of worry for all the concerned authorities. No wonder, then, that the selectors delayed the selection of the squad to tour West Indies. Our players must realise their enormous responsibilities when they represent their country. A much more focused approach is required to ensure that there is no repeat of the Kochi disaster.

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The return of Yuvraj Singh adds strength to the Indian team for the remaining two games. I have always believed that he should have been a regular in the one-day team. The youngster is in tremendous form and should definitely bolster the Indian batting. Most importantly, his inclusion adds an extra dimension to the Indian fielding. Murali Kartik too is a welcome addition to the squad; we haven't seen too many left-arm spinners in the side in recent times. I hope that the two youngsters would measure up to the task with which they have been entrusted.

I always feel that the Zimbabwe fielding makes it easy for their batsmen. These lads are so good on the field that they always manage to restrict the opposition.

To my surprise, the Indian fast bowlers chose a length that suited the Zimbabwe batsmen. I was particularly impressed by the way Alistair Campbell batted. He seems to be able to read Harbhajan Singh's bowling. If you have noticed, Campbell loves to take the bulk of the strike when the off-spinner is bowling. I can only hope that the Indian think-tank has also observed this.

Zimbabwe have a newfound self-belief; they are not willing to give the Indians an inch and are always pressing hard for a win. Geoff Marsh might have passed on to them some of the Aussie virtues and most importantly taught them to never give up.

The Indians, for their part, are making heavy weather of the oneday series. If there is no marked improvement in their performance, they would find it very difficult to win back-toback matches in Hyderabad and Guwahati and thereby take the series.