Rahul does an Azhar, spectre of Lord's reappears in Mumbai

Undated (UNI) Nothing has gone right for Rahul Dravid in this Mumbai Test. Ever since he inserted England on the first day, Rahul has singularly faced an uphill task. It is very difficult to even offer lip sympathy for the Indians. All the miseries that have come their way, the Indians have clearly piled them up on themselves.

A much depleted England team and very low on morale, was given a fresh lease of life for none too clever a cricket logic. I can compare this particular Indian blunder to the one at the Lord's in 1990. Briefly, I was the cricket manager then. My failure to convince the then captain Mohammad Azharuddin to bat first on winning the toss fell on absolute deaf ears. I was furious then and I am furious now.

Azhar's folly was in England, whereas Rahul's decision on homeground is bound to give him many a sleepless night. A series which could have been safely wrapped up 2-0 will now have to be shared.

In Azhar's case, he played a brilliant knock in desperation, still finishing up on the losing side. Rahul, by his own nature, was far too subdued and appeared to carry the entire burden of Indian batting on his shoulders. The task was too cumbersome and not enough supporters in the dressing room to lend a helping hand.

The timing of Sachin Tendulkar's physical ailments left a lot to be desired. English bowlers just needed this kind of information to create panic in the Indian ranks. Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs a bit of bollocking from team management for chucking his wicket away ever so aimlessly. Yuvraj too was out of character with himself. It all boils down to one silly mistake on the first morning of the game.

There is no way the Indians could have come back roaring.

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