MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara did not attack during crucial phases of the Test series © Cameraworx/Live Images

With the exception of the drab draw at SSC, the recently concluded Test series did produce some high-quality cricket – Murali weaving his magic at Galle, Malinga constantly making the ball talk, Sehwag taking the attack to the opposition, Sachin’s resilience and Laxman’s gritty match-winning innings, to name a few. While these exhibitions would keep the critics at bay for a while, another aspect of the game, hitherto of no great concern, has sprung up to be a potential alarm for both sides. It was the quality of leadership, or the lack of it, from both Dhoni and Sanga, which left a lot to be desired.

Let’s go backwards. While it was an exceptional knock from Laxman, which sealed the day for the Indians, Sanga’s tactics were baffling to say the least. He started the day with four men on the fence even when Ishant was on strike. Then he made the culpable error of having both long-on and long-off on the fence for Laxman, early on in his innings, knowing rather well that Laxman rarely takes the aerial route. Laxman obliged by rotating strike with ease to find his groove. And then how could you explain not having a slip for Mendis when only wickets could win you the match? These were only a few of the many such glaring errors he made throughout the series.

If Sangakkara bungled up, Dhoni too was in the wrong for being too defensive. Yes, he was impaired in the bowling department but that’s exactly when you need to take the initiative. For a good captain can make an ordinary line-up efficient. Instead of taking the gamble of playing one extra bowler, he took the safer option. Then we repeatedly saw field placements for bad balls. Or else, how could you explain a deep point in the first over of the Test match? How could you explain not having a single slip in place when the Sri Lankans needed only a handful of runs to win the first Test match? And so on.

The real test of a captain’s leadership skills is to lead a depleted unit. Steve Waugh didn’t have to be imaginative with regards to fielding positions and bowling changes whenever he needed a breakthrough. All he needed to do was to throw the ball towards either Warne or McGrath or perhaps both in tandem. But when you have to deal with the likes of Mithun, Ishant and Ojha, you need to make them look more effective than they may be on a particular day by employing different strategies along with some smart field positions. A good captain, contrary to popular belief, is not as good as his team but the one who makes the team punch above its weight.

Dhoni’s USP, until now, has been to think out-of-the-box and his willingness to punt. For me, the defining moment in Dhoni’s captaincy was when he put his money on rookie Joginder Sharma and picked him to bowl the last over of the World Twenty20 in 2007. And voila, it paid off!

Captaincy is a lot about instinct and having the guts to go with the feeling. Dhoni showed both, and in heaps, but if he abandons it for safety, which he seems to be doing, he would cease to be the maverick of a captain we all believe that he is.

India should have gone in with the extra bowler in Galle © Associated Press

Stats do the talking: Sri Lanka post a colossal 520 for 8 after being reduced to 393 for 7. India, on the other hand, lose the last five wickets for a paltry 26 runs in the first innings. Once again, five middle-order wickets pack up in 36 runs in the second innings –appalling figures that sum up the Indian tragedy in Galle.

Was it the Indian batting that failed twice in Galle or the bowling that allowed the Sri Lankans to post a mammoth total or, perhaps both? What exactly was the reason behind India’s dismal show in the first Test? While armchair criticism is rampant at this time, a bit of introspection, not misplaced criticism, would do us a world of good.

In my view, we started the first Test match on the wrong foot. The team’s endeavour, especially the No.1 team in the world, should be to win the match regardless of the toss and the conditions. Since you need 20 wickets to win a Test match, it’s imperative to tighten up the bowling unit before the start. While picking the playing XI, one must take into account the track (which would always be batsman friendly in the sub-continent) and the possibility of losing the toss (which means bowling first).

Did we have a bowling department convincing enough to dismiss the strong Sri Lankan batting twice? If the honest answer to the question is a No, it rests the issue. We hoped that we would win the toss, bat first and post a huge total, make Sri Lanka bat twice and ‘perhaps’ win the Test match. But as we now know, Test matches are not won on naive presumptions.

Let’s have a look at how the first Test panned out. The bowling looked quite listless to start with which was perhaps along the expected lines. You don’t expect an attack comprising a debutant, a rookie and a bowler making a comeback of sorts to run riot. Even the senior-most bowler was under the weather and perhaps wasn’t a 100% fit.

Just to add to India’s woes the track was flat and MS Dhoni called incorrectly. While the fast bowlers redeemed themselves somewhat and brought India back into the game, their slower counterparts failed to step up. Sri Lanka’s lower order made merry and the No.8 and 9 batsmen notched up their highest first class scores. Our bowling had run out of steam by the time the tail arrived.

Yes, the famed batting line-up failed twice in Galle, but had the Sri Lankan tail not wagged as much, we wouldn’t have fallen short of the follow-on mark. No, I’m not trying to defend the batting breakdown, but only saying that even if India batted better, we could have only salvaged a draw. For batting can either set up or save a Test match but rarely win it for the team.

While saving a Test match is an art, you must always plan to win. Despite the twin failure, I’d say that our strength lies in batting and hence can provide cushion to the bowling department. India must play bowlers who can take 20 wickets and if four bowlers don’t look resounding enough, there’s no harm in playing five. In any case, Dhoni at No.6 is as good a batsman as you could ever get at that position. By sacrificing one batsman you’d put some real pressure on the batting line-up and undoubtedly they’d respond positively.

It’s only wise to strengthen your bowling on good batting surfaces, just like you bolster the batting on surfaces which assist the bowlers.