Bedi attacks Indian shortcomings

N. Ananthanarayanan

Former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi has accused the current team of lacking match fitness and commitment in their humiliating first Test defeat by Australia.

Australia's 10-wicket victory in Bombay last week in less than three days has left the hosts in disarray and World champions Australia one win away from claiming their first Indian Test series in 31 years.

Australia extended their world record of consecutive Test wins to 16 and Steve Waugh's men look poised to wrap up the series in the second match starting in Calcutta on Sunday.

"Nothing went right for us right from the beginning. Our boys were grossly match unfit, they hadn't had enough match grinding," Bedi, a former Indian skipper and coach, said.

Bedi said the attitude of the Indian players was poor and top players were paying the price for staying away from domestic matches.

Captain Sourav Ganguly skipped the Duleep Trophy (a zonal tournament) and played only one Ranji Trophy (national championship) game which his Bengal side lost.

In contrast, the Australian side was fully focused, Bedi said.

"The only difference is the attitude of the two sides. I don't think the Australians are as superior as the margin of victory indicates. But they are far more committed," he said.

Bedi attacked the Indian selectors for replacing four bowlers for the second Test. "When the batting has failed they change four bowlers. Where is the cricketing IQ?"

PRAISE FOR INDIAN SLOW BOWLERS

The former left-arm spinner said Indian slow bowlers had given a good account of themselves, barring the period when Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden superbly counter-attacked for individual centuries to set up Australia's win.

"It was not just the bowlers. Bad strategy, a lot of bad implementation. It was a blank performance. They just let the game go out of their hands," Bedi said.

He said Australia showed all the signs of a great team. "There are three world beaters -- Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Steve Waugh himself. The rest rally around them. We have got great individuals but they don't form a team," Bedi said.

The Indian batting collapsed in both innings and their largely inexperienced bowling attack faded away after reducing Australia to 99 for five in their first innings.

Only Sachin Tendulkar came away unscathed after fighting innings of 76 and 65 which helped India avoid an innings defeat.

Ganguly came under fire for poor batting and captaincy after scoring eight and one in his two innings in the Test.

His hopes of batting practice for the Calcutta Test evaporated as he managed only a shaky 40 for the Indian Board President's XI against Australia in New Delhi.

Roger Binny, India's junior coach, said India had not cashed in on their chances in Bombay and added that the batsmen would have to play to their potential to enable the bowlers to apply pressure on Australia on the slow Indian wickets.

"I don't see Gilchrist and Hayden playing another innings as they did in Bombay and getting away playing such shots," the former Test all-rounder added.

Mail Cricket Editor