Opening an avenue for a new fiasco

The Indian cricket team has often accused its legion of admirers and critics of one major deficiency: a very short memory.
As it prepares for the final Test at Rawalpindi, sitting on the cusp of history, it seems to be afflicted by the same ghastly disease.
The players have virtually forgotten the dramatic and emphatic victory at Multan; they are so overwhelmed by the defeat at Lahore that they are almost besieged by panic.
It’s true that the last two years have been rather cruel for the team: it took the lead in Zimbabwe, in West Indies and in Australia but couldn’t hold on to it. It promptly capitulated in the subsequent Test.
The same story has now unfolded in Pakistan. And if the senior players don’t swim out of this whirlpool of negative emotions, they will probably lose this wonderful opportunity too.
But sadly, the signals emanating from the camp are neither encouraging nor positive: they are only pointing towards another case of acute amnesia.
Yes, Sourav Ganguly is back from injury and is more than eager to regain the reigns; yes, Yuvraj Singh provided some more brilliance to the already shining batting line-up in Lahore.
But are they good enough reasons to tinker with the teams edifice itself? India have always had exciting batsmen and formidable line-ups. Yet, they’ve failed more often than not because of one missing ingredient: a sound opening pair.
Most of them had made the same mistake of converting middle-order batsmen into openers. It invariably led to a huge chain reaction: a poor start, a distressing collapse and the bowlers never having enough to put up even a semblance of a fight.
In recent times, the Men in Blue have enjoyed a good run because of the initial thrust provided first by Tendulkar and Ganguly and then by Tendulkar and Sehwag; they have barely started doing well in Tests too because of the coming together of Sehwag and Aakash Chopra.
But then, Chopra is a blocker, not a dasher; he is stubborn, not an attacking batsman. And India doesn’t love such players. If they don’t mind Rahul Dravid today, it’s only because he has learnt the art of scoring briskly.
The team management is now making the same mistake: it is forgetting the crucial role played by Chopra in Australia, or even his contribution in the mammoth total at Multan.
For just one moment, imagine the scenario if Chopra hadn’t succumbed to the new ball on the first morning of the Lahore Test. Would India have collapsed so dramatically? Would Yuvraj have got the chance to score such a breathtaking, yet futile, century?
Probably not. And that’s the key difference. Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar and Ganguly look even more formidable now because they are getting the opportunity to bat when the pressure is off.
The Indian team is willing to sacrifice this great option only because its giving undue importance to one innings, the last one. Yes, Yuvraj has opened in domestic games; yes, even Parthiv (who can be the surprise choice) can face the Pakistani speedsters. But will it remain the same?
Of course not. Unfortunately, those who have short memories (or forget history) are condemned to repeat the same mistakes.