Mother nature's lessons for India

No praise can be too high for Mahendra Singh Dhonis team of champions which returned home yesterday after its impressive 31 ODI victory and historic Test series win in New Zealand after 41 years that seemed like an eternityThe stirring performances of the players on the field and their exemplary deportment off it have won the team and their country unqualified respect and innumerable friends and admirers in the Antipodes Although the world Twenty20 champions lost both backtoback matches in the slambang edition their disappointing show can be justifiably put down to insufficient acclimatisation in the alien climactic and playing conditions that prevail in New Zealand which have been a veritable nightmare for previous touring Indian teamsIndia skipper M S DhoniIndias superiority in the Tests and ODIs has been so comprehensive that skipper Dhoni may be excused his unintended but seeming immodesty when he said We have achieved something big we have set a benchmark and the next team will be under pressure to sustain itMonetary bonus Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI president Shashank Manohar has lost no time in announcing that a handsome monetary bonus awaits the players and support staff Despite the usual and obvious publicityseeking motive behind the timing of the gesture there can be no doubt that the award is eminently welldeservedAt the risk of sounding churlish I must record that Indian skipper Dhoni and the teams War Council erred grievously in delaying the declaration on the fourth morning of the Wellington Test with contemptuous disregard for the unanimous forecast of inclement weather in most parts of the country especially Wellington on the last dayAt the press conference at the end of the fourth day Yuvraj Singh superciliously dismissed reporters suggestions about the chances of bad weather on the fifth day stymieing his teams prospects of a seemingly facile if not inevitable victoryBut for the delay India could have wrapped up the Test before rain and bad light resulted in play being called off 20 minutes after lunch when New Zealand were staring defeat on 281 for eight after India had set the home team an improbable target of 617 runs to winHad India won as they should have deservedly done they would have gained a point and reduced the margin of their third position behind South Africa in the ICC Test rankings to just one A 20 rather than a 10 series win would have helped India retain their preseries118 ratings points one behind the secondplaced Proteas and within closer striking distance of 10 behind world Test champions Australia The draw has left Dhonis side with 117 points two short of South Africa and 11 behind AustraliaAs mentioned in KHALIDOSCOPE yesterday the Indian approach as evidenced by the delayed declaration and chaltahai mindset towards the close of the fourth day came in the way of a 20 win which was important in terms of team morale and selfbeliefThe senior members of the team who have played in New Zealand before and certainly coach Gary Kirsten should have known the notoriously changeable weather conditions in that country and equally importantly that Met Office forecasts in this part of the world are generally more accurate than at homeThe dismissive comments by Yuvraj as also Dhoni who said after the match With two days of play we knew it may rain but at that point of time it was not certain indicated a dreadful ignorance of the inclemency of the weather outside the tropicsHopefully the team is wiser after the event and that it has learnt the important lesson that you can take Mother Nature for granted only at your peril