Little joy in beating the West Indies

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Clinching the series via the short route against this sadly emaciated West Indian side was always on the cards and while congratulations are in order for Sourav Ganguly and his men for wrapping up the series in double quick time, there can be little joy in romping home against weak opposition.

The true essence of sport lies in a strong challenge and stiff competition. Batsmen cherish runs made against strong bowling and bowlers remember the wickets taken when confronted by formidable batsmen. Because of the one-sided results in the two Tests, this true essence is lacking. In sport, there are few things worse than a lop-sided contest but then the disparity between the sides is so sharp that India going two up after two Tests hardly raises any excitement. It's really as easy as taking candy from a baby and there is nothing to suggest that the result will not be a clean sweep after the final Test at Kolkata.

Surely, this is not just the weakest West Indian side to come to India but also one of the weakest ever to visit these shores. The batting is pathetic, the bowling mediocre and the fielding shabby. There is a noticeable lack of fighting spirit. Psychologically, the West Indians are a beaten side even as they take the field. It is not a happy augury when on the eve of a Test, only the margin of defeat and when that defeat will come about is being freely discussed. From the competitive angle, it has really been a poor series, probably next only to the 1993-94 contest against Sri Lanka when the tourists lost all three Tests by an innings.

How much pleasure will the Indian batsmen gain on getting runs against sub-standard bowling? And how much joy will the Indian bowlers experience in taking wickets against mediocre batting? Yes, their career averages will receive a tremendous boost but that's about all that can be said.

There is little cheer in watching or even playing in matches that result in two straight defeats, each with over a day to spare, one by an innings and the other by eight wickets. This is the depressing background against which the West Indians prepare for battle at the Eden Gardens. And for both the players and the spectators, the prospect is as invigorating as flat beer.

Amidst the sense of satisfaction - it can be little else - over India emerging victorious in one more home rubber, the overriding feeling is one of feeling sorry for West Indian cricket. Even when they experienced a decline in the past, like when the great team built by Frank Worrell in the sixties broke up at the end of decade, the period spent in the doldrums was not extended and the defeats were not as heavy as the sides under Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh and Carl Hooper are enduring.

In the seventies, after a few years of rebuilding, the West Indies were back where they belonged - at the top of the heap - where they stayed for over a decade and a half, in the process becoming one of the greatest teams of all time.

This time, the decline started in the mid-90s and the graph has just maintained its downward drop to an alarming degree. The decline is particularly pronounced away from home, symbolised by the fact that the defeat in Chennai was their 25th in 29 Tests away from the Caribbean in five years. On the sub-continent, they are heading for another embarrassing rout, having already suffered 3-0 clean sweeps against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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The Indians will undoubtedly be happy taking whatever comes their way. A victory is a victory against any opposition and in the record books this is another series triumph against the West Indies - their third in all and the second at home. The batsmen have made the runs, the bowlers have taken the wickets and Parthiv Patel has taken another step towards becoming the longterm solution to India's wicketkeeping problems. So now having underlined their overwhelming superiority over the hapless opposition, isn't it time to experiment?

Ideally this is indeed the time to blood a couple of newcomers without doing too much damage to the team's prospects. In the long term, it could serve Indian cricket better. One remembers how a then relatively unknown 17-year-old off spinner named Harbhajan Singh was blooded for the final Test against Australia at Bangalore in 1998 after India had gained a winning 2-0 lead in the series. Will the selectors show the same adventurous spirit again?