Where was the risk, really?

At the end of the Test series, this Indian team stood crowned as the most successful one to have ever visited the Caribbean - they won the lone Twenty20 match, won the ODI series and then won the Test series. And yet, the discussions that will linger will not be about the month of solid results, but the final hour of play - or rather the non-existence of it. There was no inkling of the bizarre denouement that the Test would face when play began on the fifth morning. West Indies were effectively 81/6, with only Chanderpaul as the recognized batsman. Given the form India's bowlers had shown so far, setting a target of 120 looked like a tall order for the hosts. However, Chanderpaul displayed the trademark grit that had been missing a little in this series so far, and found a large-hearted Fidel Edwards who was willing to stick it out with him and show the same courage. That ensured two things - a)West Indies would not be defending a terribly small total, and the bowlers would have something to bowl at, and b)India would not have the luxury of time during their chase since Edwards and Chanderpaul had used up much of it. Eventually, when West Indies were all out, India needed 180 to win in 47 overs. Not impossible - but certainly not a walk in the park. India's tactics at the start could not be faulted too much. The opening batsmen were struggling, but there were no ready replacements and the combination was not tinkered with. When Abhinav Mukund fell first ball, Rahul Dravid walked in. Given that a wicket had fallen off the first ball and that Vijay had aggregated 27 runs in his 5 Test innings on tour, sending Dravid in made perfect sense. West Indies would have their tails up, there was a likelihood of another quick wicket given Vijay's form, and India had been traditionally nervous if a fourth innings chase started badly. The situation cried out for solidity and there was nobody more solid than Dravid in the line-up. Once the innings was stabilized, the Indian team's plan became clear. Dravid would hold one end up, look for singles and Vijay would take on the role of the aggressor. When Vijay fell, the in-form Raina was sent up the order to push the run-rate along. The move was sound since Raina had the capacity to blast off, and had been in good touch throughout the series. However, it back-fired when Raina failed. That should have been the cue for MS Dhoni to stride out to the middle. After all, the captain was the biggest hitter in the side and had top-scored in the first innings. When Raina fell, India still needed a gettable 94 off 125 balls, and Dhoni seemed the perfect man for the job. However, it was VVS Laxman who walked out. Not that sending VVS in could be faulted, since he too had been in pristine touch in the series. However, given his experience and the fact that the team might need a bulwark if another wicket fell quickly, it seemed a tad strange. The strangeness was nothing compared to what unfolded a few minutes after that. India had reached a stage where 86 were needed off fifteen overs when a drinks break was called for. And incredibly, bizarrely, the two captains agreed to call off the match and share the spoils. True, a run-rate of 6 an over would not be easy in the final hour of a Test, but with 7 wickets in hand and only 15 overs to go, it seemed far too premature of Dhoni to accept a draw as a result. At the post-match presentation, Dhoni said he was "not disappointed with the result" and that he didn't want to "risk the series win in going for the target". You have to wonder - what 'risk' was there for India? They had 7 wickets in hand, two of the senior-most batsmen in the middle and a host of others to follow. Could a batting line-up that read Dravid, Laxman, Kohli, Dhoni - not to mention Harbhajan, Praveen and Ishant - really be that unsure of lasting 15 overs? If the target of 180 was not achieved in those 15 overs, it wouldn't have been a major issue. But not trying for the target seemed far too soft, and not becoming of the world's Number One Test team. After all, if a wicket or two fell quickly, the remaining batsmen could surely be counted on to see through the match till close of play. More than that, this team has risen to the top of the world by often playing brave cricket, seizing moments that mattered and standing up with plenty of fight when the opposition came hard at them. In the previous Test, Dhoni himself had made a bold declaration in pursuit of victory. The team had shown that it was capable of resisting and overcoming challenges, and it was a disservice to not allow it the opportunity to face one more such challenge. In ten days time, India will face England at Lord's. Both are arguably the world's best two teams right now and the match they play will be the 2000th Test in history. Across those 2000 matches, teams that have been great have never been described as 'soft' though. If this current Indian team has to join the ranks of the historically great ones, this suddenly soft approach will have to be discarded. In the ten-day break between now and then, MS Dhoni might want to ask himself - 86 runs in 90 balls with 7 wickets in the bag. Where was the risk, really?