Clinching the series via the short route against this sadlyemaciated West Indian side was always on the cards and whilecongratulations are in order for Sourav Ganguly and his men forwrapping up the series in double quick time, there can be littlejoy in romping home against weak opposition.The true essence of sport lies in a strong challenge and stiffcompetition. Batsmen cherish runs made against strong bowling andbowlers remember the wickets taken when confronted by formidablebatsmen. Because of the one-sided results in the two Tests, thistrue essence is lacking. In sport, there are few things worsethan a lop-sided contest but then the disparity between the sidesis so sharp that India going two up after two Tests hardly raisesany excitement. It’s really as easy as taking candy from a babyand there is nothing to suggest that the result will not be aclean sweep after the final Test at Kolkata.Surely, this is not just the weakest West Indian side to come toIndia but also one of the weakest ever to visit these shores. Thebatting is pathetic, the bowling mediocre and the fieldingshabby. There is a noticeable lack of fighting spirit.Psychologically, the West Indians are a beaten side even as theytake the field. It is not a happy augury when on the eve of aTest, only the margin of defeat and when that defeat will comeabout is being freely discussed. From the competitive angle, ithas really been a poor series, probably next only to the 1993-94contest against Sri Lanka when the tourists lost all three Testsby an innings.How much pleasure will the Indian batsmen gain on getting runsagainst sub-standard bowling? And how much joy will the Indianbowlers experience in taking wickets against mediocre batting?Yes, their career averages will receive a tremendous boost butthat’s about all that can be said.There is little cheer in watching or even playing in matchesthat result in two straight defeats, each with over a day tospare, one by an innings and the other by eight wickets. This isthe depressing background against which the West Indians preparefor battle at the Eden Gardens. And for both the players and thespectators, the prospect is as invigorating as flat beer.Amidst the sense of satisfaction – it can be little else – overIndia 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 thegreat team built by Frank Worrell in the sixties broke up at theend of decade, the period spent in the doldrums was not extendedand 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 WestIndies were back where they belonged – at the top of the heap -where they stayed for over a decade and a half, in the processbecoming one of the greatest teams of all time.This time, the decline started in the mid-90s and the graph hasjust maintained its downward drop to an alarming degree. Thedecline is particularly pronounced away from home, symbolised bythe fact that the defeat in Chennai was their 25th in 29 Testsaway from the Caribbean in five years. On the sub-continent, theyare heading for another embarrassing rout, having alreadysuffered 3-0 clean sweeps against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Indians will undoubtedly be happy taking whatever comes theirway. A victory is a victory against any opposition and in therecord books this is another series triumph against the WestIndies – their third in all and the second at home. The batsmenhave made the runs, the bowlers have taken the wickets andParthiv Patel has taken another step towards becoming the longterm solution to India’s wicketkeeping problems. So now havingunderlined their overwhelming superiority over the haplessopposition, isn’t it time to experiment?Ideally this is indeed the time to blood a couple of newcomerswithout doing too much damage to the team’s prospects. In thelong term, it could serve Indian cricket better. One remembershow a then relatively unknown 17-year-old off spinner namedHarbhajan Singh was blooded for the final Test against Australiaat Bangalore in 1998 after India had gained a winning 2-0 lead inthe series. Will the selectors show the same adventurous spiritagain?