COLOMBO: Headed for climax at the Sinhalese Sports Club, a stomping ground for the erstwhile legends of Lanka, the last of those luminaries having quietly walked into the sunset at the Sara, is India’s two-year-long journey. It began with captain MS Dhoni, armed with a crew of striplings, through as distinct outposts as South Africa, New Zealand, England, Australia and Bangladesh, and is now braced for conclusion with one of his buzzing striplings at the pinnacle.
It was a period of generational flux, with the venerable four leaving an unfillable hole and the frantic prance to slot in make-for-make replacements, which finally, and fittingly, ended with Dhoni’s departure. Any account or retrospection is bound to bring a mixture of dejection and what-could-have-been gasps, amidst the occasional drools. There were instances they lost terribly, like in England, or heartbreakingly in Adelaide and Auckland, or drawn frustratingly, at the Wanderers and Wellington.
But the nucleus of the team has endured the tough passage, the transitional jerk, emerged battle-hardened and seems closer to that stage when we can say they have come of age, or shed their skin of naivety and worn the garb of wisdom. New heroes have emerged, like Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul, the older ones have enforced their value, like Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin and even the shunted fall guys like Amit Mishra, have made a rousing comeback.
Forging the nucleus together is a young and daring leader, unabashed to wear aggression on his sleeves and leads by example than preaching. Virat Kohli is not the archetypal churchy Indian batsman, mild and apologetic, almost to a fault. But blunt and firm in his convictions. There are no ideological dalliances or hierarchical mess in the team. He seems like a benevolent republican with an undiluted clarity of mind.
Maybe, his predecessor had seen enough qualities in him before relinquishing his throne. Agrees team director Ravi Shastri: “I think that was one of the reasons why MS decided to quit. He realised there are three formats of the game and it was becoming hard. But at the same time he knew there was someone ready. Now if you think back, you will know why he made that decision. By announcing his retirement, he made it clear that he believes this guy is ready and he needs a run.”
Whatever the trigger behind Dhoni’s departure be, Kohli has shown he is comfortable handling the captaincy chores. Not just that it hasn’t affected his batting—he scored four hundreds in first four Tests as captain—but it’s the sort responsibility a man of such throbbing self-belief thrives in. And he is on the brink of achieving what no other Indian captain could since Mohammad Azharuddin in 1993. Also, India haven’t won a series overseas since 2011.
But winning the series is not as straightforward as it seems, though India having overwhelmingly dominated the second Test and a chunk of the Galle fixture, would believe they have the cutting edge. The hosts, though, defected by their departed legend, have a bevy of promising youngsters who could stand up and announce their arrival. But they have injury concerns — like Tharindu Kaushal’s swollen thump — and a bigger issue of lacklustre batsmen at the top.
Meanwhile, India have their own worries, like the bizarre trend of openers courting injuries, forcing the third different combination in the series, a wicketkeeper making his debut, and an intriguingly grass-ridden strip that would pose enough selection procrastination, as to include Bhuvneshwar Kumar or not. It could be a temptation they might resist, as whatever grass the strip tends to have, could hardly make a lasting impact.