India enter the final phase of a tough tough series of away tours, unlike any team in recent years has had. I don't remember any team having to play 5 consecutive away series ever. SA, NZ, Eng, Aus and now SL. Its tough run, but atleast the final leg is in conditions far more familiar to the side.
Looking back, the result cumutavely doesn't look good, but in isolation the five tours weren;t that bad, England I would say was the only disappointment. Lost 1-0 in SA, which is acceptable, I mean that was a totally new side, we didn't have any openers, a totally new middle order was being tried out for the first time, and lets not forget we nearly won the first test. We had SA 7 (or was it 8), down chasing a 300+ in the fourth innings when the match finished in a draw. It was a very exciting finish with SA also being close to the total.
The NZ tour was just a month or so later, and again while we lost the 1st test, we really should have won the 2nd one. We had a near 250 run lead after both first innings, and in the 3rd innings NZ were 94/5 and then dropped McCullum around the same score before NZ had even got to 100, and then he made 300+, and drew the game for NZ. These things are forgotten when we look back.
Eng yes there were no excuses after the 2nd test. The batting collapse that happened in all the three tests after Lord's was inexcusable, and that I will say is the only unacceptable performance of all the overseas tours this run.
Aus, I think lets be honest and realistic, a 2-0 defeat is not the worst. Aus are just that good at home, even though they were poor in Eng, but there is no questioning their home form. I think most teams will be satisfied with a 2-0 defeat in Aus. Also lets not forget we nearly chased a recrod total in 4th innings.
Its been a case of nearlies no doubt, but I feel that the Eng tour was the only one that was really bad. The cumulative result doesn't look all that great, but in isolation the Eng one was the only one that was below expectations, where the team didnt put up any fight.
