India get a taste of their own medicine

The Trini Posse swerved and jived, the king dazzled, the joker thrilled, and a golden run came to an end. After three games that twisted and turned, West Indies finally broke away and gradually, like a giant wave gaining momentum, crashed into India. Juggernauts are eventually stopped - even Napoleon was finally defeated - but it was an ironic twist that India met their nemesis at Port of Spain, a victorious arena in the days gone by.

Make no mistake about it, but this was a huge upset. Rankings may mean nothing but it's not everyday that No. 8 upstages No. 3. West Indies may not be pushovers but only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have lost a series here since the 2003 World Cup. Australia won four in a row and lost three dead-rubbers, England drew, Sri Lanka triumphed 2-1, Pakistan whitewashed them 3-0, and South Africa went one step further - handing out a 5-0 walloping. India, on the other hand, had lost just six out of their last 24 games and hadn't even lost two games on the trot in that period. Let's be honest about it; this was not even supposed to be a contest.

The first three games might have gone right down to the wire - with a bit of luck it could have been 3-0 either way - but today was a clear indication of where the momentum was. West Indies bowled with more discipline and batted with more composure. Brian Lara arrived, producing a golden innings at a crucial moment. Dwayne Bravo arrived, first with the ball, where he's making a case for being classified as a right-arm-slow-yorker bowler, and then with a plucky half-century. West Indies assessed the conditions better, bowled better lengths and targeted bowlers while batting. Lara spoke about the planning that went into this triumph, with a plan for every single Indian player. India probably realised how they had made Sri Lanka and Pakistan feel in the last few months. They were caught on the hop.

India weren't defeated by bounce, or pace, or even a battery of batting assaults. They were done in by accurate length, by nagging lines, by a combined steel and a will to cling on. They never came to terms with Ian Bradshaw, a bowler similar to Irfan Pathan but someone who produced fuller lengths; and they often struggled against Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, more fire-it-straight kind of bowlers rather than genuine spinners. If, at any point, they thought they were facing up to Chaminda Vaas, Aravinda de Silva and Kumar Dharmasena at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, they can't be faulted. Their batsmen took time to come to terms with the sluggish surfaces, all fired in spurts but the collective blast never came.

At least Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag had big knocks in the three previous games. Today, some crumbled and some failed to kick on. Just when a lukewarm start turned into a promising consolidation, they began to crawl. Four an over after 40, with six wickets in hand, was a pretty good position on this pitch. But only 18 came off the next five, with the batsmen getting bogged down. For a while, it was St Kitts all over again, when they got 34 off the last 12.

Gayle fired a few powerful blows early on, but the decisive blows were struck with a hand of gold. In the 38th over of the match, with Harbhajan Singh coming to the end of a tidy spell, and with India still in with a chance to sneak back, Lara waltzed. With the feet of a ballet artist, he sashayed down the track and lofted. First he mistimed, yet managed a boundary to midwicket; then he unfurled an emphatic swirl to get another; and then, with the crowd still gaping, and the calypso still playing, he danced down the track again, third ball in a row, and unleashed an almighty swing, depositing the ball to the stands at long-on. The three deliveries flattened India. It's tough to keep your head up when you've been mastered.

Maybe, while pondering over this defeat, the Indians might take a drive around Port-of-Spain and get a flavour of the country. If they do, they may come across a region on the outskirts of the city fittingly called Waterloo. They must remember that all hot streaks eventually end. They must also remember that Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was remembered because of all his successes before. India can't become a bad side overnight; but this night belonged solely to the men in maroon.