“I know in Indian cricket even a day can be a lifetime.” Indian coach John Wright said that right after India had beaten Australia in the Adelaide Test last December. By the same logic, three months could mean the passing of an age.
Just three months separate India’s outstanding show in Pakistan and its series of miserable batting performances from the Asia Cup in July.
And after their abject surrender in the first Test in Bangalore you have to wonder whether this was the same team that launched a thousand dreams. Why did it all go wrong?
Here’s a list of five reasons
TOO MUCH REST: It left the players rusty and it is obvious that most of them took this “rest” a bit too seriously. In the highly demanding and competitive world of cricket, if you are not match-fit — physically and mentally — it is difficult to discover your touch of old.
This happened to most of the top order and once your batting form goes, the pressure mounts and pressure can do many things to many people. It can even destroy a man mentally. Ask a Virender Sehwag or a Yuvraj Singh and you will get an answer.