The Surfer

All things considered, Ponting deserved better than the hostile reception received on his way to the middle. Between Tests TV channels pounced upon his refusal to promise VVS Laxman a runner in this match. Not that Laxman had asked. Every cricketer knows his opinion was correct. Several respected Indian past players said so. And still the TV channels fed the frenzy. Previously the same channels had berated Ponting for his part in the brief spat with Zaheer Khan in Mohali. That was a mischievous rewriting of events. Every nation has its stirrers. The problem starts when they set the agenda.

There is something about the Bangalore's M Chinnaswamy that amplifies sound. It comes up from the concrete bleaches, hits the high tin roofs and bounces back down, physically assaulting the ear drums. It's cicada sharp. Tinny and high-tensile. Ten fans can make the sound of a thousand anywhere else ...

... Then Sachin emerges with a blade in each hand and the decibel level goes through the roof. Surely it carries to Delhi's empty stadiums.

Misbah was touted as a future captain after scoring prolifically on the 2007 tour of India but is yet to prove his leadership ability. In contrast, Younis Khan inspires a lot more trust. The 32-year-old may not have played for Pakistan since the catastrophic tour of Australia but nobody can argue the fact that he is one of Pakistan's most prolific Test batsmen.

But people at the helm of Pakistan's cricket affairs will tell you that Younis needs a 'clearance' to get selected for national duty. What clearance? Has he been accused of fixing matches? Has he used or carried illegal drugs? Has he beaten up a team-mate?

We felt that going into this series that we were as well prepared as we have ever been and I think you could see that in the way we played. You saw it in the bodies and the minds of the guys. Last week was as good a feeling I have seen around the group for a long time. I must say that it hasn't evaporated either. There is still a lot of laughter and, more importantly, intent to play good cricket. It is important after having the stuffing knocked out of us that we find a way to respond.

Has any cricketer of his calibre changed less? Has any sportsman of his duration shown so few signs of mental wear and tear? Garry Sobers comes closest. For him, too, the game never became an ordeal.

Of course, the body grumbles but the Indian's mind has remained attentive. To an extraordinary extent, Tendulkar plays for the same reasons as in his youth. It's not that he has failed to grow; just that from the outset he saw the game in its true light, as an end in itself.

In The English Patient, Katherine Clifton leaves Laszlo Almasy with the words: "From this point on in our lives, we will either find or lose our souls." After a tumultuous five days in Mohali, Ponting, the most decorated cricketer of his generation, might view his leadership in the same light.

This series has just one more Test, which Ponting has said, with glum humour, he hopes Laxman’s back keeps him out of. That’s half the problem. You’re never really tested except in Tests. Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble, Laxman: they were all Test players first. The next generation, not so much; even if some of them, like Sehwag and Gambhir, have talent that bends the format around them. If we want steel of VVS’ calibre, we need to temper it, to test it. And that needs more Tests, on supportive pitches. After Mohali’s single-wicket win, who wouldn’t want more?

The problem is, the BCCI really doesn't care whether you go to the ground or not - its ideal world is where everyone watches from home, because TV channels pay the board hefty license fees. Until 2006-07, Cricket Australia had a broadcast policy which said that unless the ground is sold out, there would be no live broadcast on TV in that particular state. It is a good policy, ensuring attendance. A corollary is pricing policies that make watching Test cricket affordable, so that families can go without fracturing their budget; equally important is taking care to ensure that the facilities at the grounds are of high quality - the lack of basic seating, toilets, water, and food makes watching Test cricket in India an exercise in endurance, and no fan these days wants to pay money for substandard facilities when he can watch from the sofa in his living room.

Since replacing Phil Hughes for the third Ashes Test of 2009, Watson has averaged over 50 as an opener (in seven innings at No 6 he has averaged 24; in six innings at No 7, just 14). He may yet go down as Australia’s best right-handed opener since David Boon. But it is his unlikely alliance with Katich – biffer and nurdler, He-Man and man’s man – that is currently papering over Australia’s batting cracks.

The question that should be asked is not how much, but how. Who scores runs against the best team in the world, when the pressure is the greatest, and turns near-certain defeat into glorious victory? Laxman has come to India’s rescue with such regularity that on the eve of the final day, when Ricky Ponting sat down to eat dinner, it was Laxman who occupied his thoughts.