Though Virat Kohli & Co. have been beyond excellent in their 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka, there is a sense of emptiness considering the opposition was nowhere near Test standard
Skipper Virat Kohli leads Team India out of the ground after their victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo recently. Pic/AFP
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There are defeats that are worthy of a cricketer's character, draws that feel like a mountain climbed and triumphs that will live in memory forever. Virat Kohli is likely to become India's most successful Test captain, and while he is young yet the numbers and the records may be enough, but eventually a time will come when he cares about the legacy he leaves behind.
This Indian team has been beyond excellent and to take anything away from what they have achieved would be churlish. Yet, what lingers is a sense of emptiness, a hollow feeling that even a 3-0 sweep in Sri Lanka cannot be considered a major achievement.
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Kohli's team can only play the opponents presented to them, and they can only control how well they prepare, plan and execute. There is no faulting them on any of these points.
Yet, when all is said and done, would Kohli want to be remembered as the captain who won series after series at home, only winning abroad in West Indies and Sri Lanka, against teams that were nowhere near Test standard?
Sunil Gavaskar, who has watched enough cricket in his life, has said, with no disrespect, that this Sri Lankan team would struggle to beat a decent Ranji Trophy team. While that might sound excessive, it is sadly true.
In three Test matches, Sri Lanka's best score was 386, this, in a lost cause at the Sinhalese Sports Club, where they succumbed by an innings and 53 runs. India's lowest score in a completed innings on this tour was 487. Such is the gap between the two teams.
While Shikhar Dhawan, not even slated to be a part of this squad, managed 358 runs at an average of 89.5 and a strike rate of 104.67, Sri Lanka's finest was Dimuth Karunaratne, with 285 runs from two innings more than Dhawan.
The bowling statistics are even more scary. The top four places are occupied by Indians, with only Nuwan Pradeep (six wickets) and Lakshan Sandakan (five wickets) even featuring although neither featured in enough games. Contrast that with R Ashwin, who had 17 scalps, or lower the bar and find Ravindra Jadeja with 13 (missed the last Test through suspension) or Mohammad Shami with 10 sticks.
All teams go through ups and downs and there is no doubt this young Sri Lankan team is in a state of transition. But, for none of the batsmen to have enough pride to occupy the crease merely to deny the opposition a wicket, or for the bowlers to be unable to even perform with discipline, is a sad day for cricket.
From Sathasivam Mahadevan to Roy Dias to Duleep Mendis to Arjuna Ranatunga to Aravinda de Silva and then Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka has a proud tradition of producing world class batsmen.
Today, the cupboard is bare, and while India will take the easy win, there is little reason to rejoice. A cricket country that was once truly great, has become the butt of jokes, and that can never be a good thing.
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