angalore: Former Test star Gundappa Vishwanath, who praised the overall performance of the triumphant Indian team in New Zealand, said he was a little disappointed with Mahendra Singh Dhoni not declaring the second innings much earlier as his tactics of batting out the hosts backfired even as rain saved the Kiwis from certain defeat with the third and final Test ending in a draw on Tuesday.
"I thought Dhoni led the team from the front by doing everything right till he decided to prolong the declaration, which was a mistake I guess. Dhoni is a very attacking captain who is very calm and cool even under tremendous pressure but in the fag end of the match he missed a trick or two by not declaring after getting a lead of 531, which was more than enough to bowl out the opposition.
"Batting out the opposition will not work all the time as one has to take into consideration the fickle nature of the weather in countries like England and New Zealand," Vishwanath told Cricketnext.com on Tuesday.
"India could have wrapped up the Black Cap’s innings if their bowlers had got another eight to ten overs more and personally I think we lost out on a 2-0 series win due to late declaration. However, credit should also be given to the Kiwi batsmen, particularly Ross Taylor, who came up with a timely century to save the day for his team,” the former Karnataka star added.
Praising the senior batsmen for striking form at the right time, Vishwanath singled out Gautam Gambhir’s tremendous batting and Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh’s consistent bowling as the main features of India’s recent success during their overseas tours.
"The team’s overall performances in the last year or so has been fantastic and this victory should take their level of confidence sky high. Gautam Gambhir has been a great revelation not just in Test cricket but in all formats of the game. He has been in tremendous form for the past four series or so. Even the senior batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman – have shown great form while the lower order batsmen’s consistency has caught everyone, particularly the opposition, off-guard and has been a big bonus to the team," Vishwanath observed.
"The bowling too has come good in recent times. Zaheer has bowled his heart out and is definitely the best left arm seamer in the world while Harbhajan Singh has gone from strength to strength despite losing his senior bowling partner and India’s most successful spinner Anil Kumble, who retired recently.
"I think Bhajji has fitted into the senior spinner’s role perfectly and is sure to play a key role for the team’s success in future as well," he added.
Another former Indian great Javagal Srinath, however, supported Dhoni’s decision to prolong the declaration as he thought that the Indian skipper wanted to play it safe after taking a 1-0 lead early in the series.
"I don’t blame Dhoni or the team’s think-tank for prolonging the declaration as their intention was to bat out the opposition. Nobody can predict the weather perfectly even in countries like England and New Zealand and moreover the Indians had enough time to bowl out the opposition.
"It is the determination of the Kiwi batsmen combined with sheer bad luck (rain) spoilt the day for the tourists," Srinath said.
Hoping that the Indians would continue with their winning spree, Srinath was all praise for Man-of-the-Series Gautam Gambhir terming his performance as ‘superlative batting’.
"Gambhir seems to be improving with every series and has been a great asset to the team in recent times. To perform in all formats of the game takes something because you have to use different tactics all the time but this youngster has carried it off effortlessly and has proved once again that you can succeed in all forms of the game with little adjustments here and there," Srinath said.
"Now the team looks perfectly blended with youth and experience as the seniors seems to be as hungry for runs and success as ever while the youngsters seem to be bent upon emulating the seniors.
"This healthy competition is a welcome sign and one can only hope that they carry on the good work for the next couple of years at least so that they become the top team in all formats of the game,” he added
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