What a shocker on day 5!! Dhoni declared with a lead of just 289. I certainly didn't see that one coming. With all my talk of grinding down the opposition and forcing them into having another tedious day in the field, it was actually India who spent the majority of the day in the field! Wow. So that's 1 of 2 predictions i got wrong, the other being Haye knocking out Wladimir Klitschko inside 7 rounds...pffft. Must do better next time.
Dhoni on previous occasions, only dared to declare when the score was above 400+. The worst of the lot was on our tour of NZ back in 2009, when he chose to bat on and on for a 617 run lead and India ended up a few wickets short of what would have been another test win. Not that i was complaining, since the test series win is the most important thing, but it was disappointing to see 5 days of dominance amounting to nothing. This time around, the defensive approach was expected, so I was pleasantly surprised.
How much of this new found boldness can be attributed to Duncan Fletcher, I don't know. Whether it marks a change in the captain's mentality isn't something I will speculate on, but I would love to see bold declarations being made against stronger teams in the future. Fletcher isn't one for the media, never has been, and we will never know how much influence he had in the reversal of a long-time trend but I have this feeling he had something to do with it.
In any event, there is no reason why this offensive approach shouldn't continue. After all, with the kind of pace attack India has, they have reason to believe that even 200-250 is defend-able. A positive approach will serve us well in England, and will enable Dhoni to get the most out of his bowlers. Defending the smaller target demands greater intensity and focus, and forces the captain to set attacking fields since the margin for error is greatly reduced. Throw in the crowd factor (which I am sorry to say, was missing today despite the free entrance) and all this makes for some unforgettable cricket. Who can forget India defending 103 against Australia at Mumbai, or something as recent as India defending 190 against South Africa, in what I call the 'Miracle of Jo'burg'. Experiences like these lay the foundations for long term greatness, setting precedents that create a new fear in the mind of opponents.
Today the weather deprived us of a tremendous finish, but the positive memories taken from this game will serve India well in the future. If the team is in a position to defend 250 or less at say, Trent Bridge on day 5 with the series on a knife's edge, they will remember what happened here and fancy their chances.
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