I am not certain how many finger nails are intact on Rahul Dravid’s hands. His standing transfixed and clueless at first slip was not really a pleasant sight. Take your pick, followers of Team India can be plain disappointed, get angry or keep crying all day. Well, Dravid has given us flexibility here too.

There is no point in talking ‘pedigree’ in the line up unless they deliver. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly had no business in going into a shell after the loss of early wickets. The conditions might have not been ideal for strokeplay but their inability to graft and keep the scoreboard ticking over or innovate and strike cost the team dear. Nearly 25,000 ODI runs between them but tied up in knots by a young bunch of bowlers renews our faith in the game.

Too many tactical errors cost India. The decision to bat was the hugest of all mistakes; mind you I am not talking in hindsight. The wicket had something to offer for the new ball and trying to get the batting campaign off in these conditions was not the brightest of ideas. I had a dizzy spell when Viru walked out to open with Sourav. What has Robin Uthappa done wrong as an opener to face this demotion?

Viru would have been better off against the slow men in the middle overs with his skill to hit inside out. Given the frame of mind he is in, making him face the new ball was throwing him into the deep end. India might have suffered through the efforts of Sachin and Sourav but Yuvraj with his clean hitting gave them a ray of hope. But to lose five wickets for two runs at the death and except to win a cricket match is like asking for the moon. The target of 192 did not give enough for the bowlers on a wicket that had eased considerably by the time Bangladesh came out to bat.

Given the fact we have one medium pacer who after 10 years of international cricket does not have a idea to bowl six balls with offering a ‘boundary ball’ or not to let slip a wide or a no-ball. And another who trains his thoughts on how to glare at batsman rather than plot his downfall!

Munaf Patel was the only saving grace on an otherwise forgettable day. Keeping a tight length, he shows greater understanding of the science of one-day bowling. His height offers him bounce even if he has cut down on his pace. The catch Dhoni dropped proved costly in the final analysis, if India had one chance it was at that point with three batsmen already gone, India could have gone for the kill but that was destined not to be.

The knock by Tamim Iqbal was a lesson. He remained positive even though wickets tumbled around him. He was always on the lookout for runs and to me that made all the difference. Not bowling Sehwag early was another of Dravid’s innumerable and inexplicable blunders. If Bangladesh can bowl 30 overs of spin against the better organized batsmen against that craft, Dravid should have learnt his lessons then and there.

The team think tank will have some hard explaining to do. All may not be lost yet. Rather there is nothing more to lose. The team has to come out positive and eliminate the errors that cost so much. There may have been a crumb of comfort as Ireland got past Pakistan in another shocker. The cricketing Gods scripted the day for the minnows with such generosity that not one but two Goliaths fell.

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