DEFEATED 2-0 in the one-day series; 1-0 in the Tests. Defeated by Derbyshire. Deserted by Navjot Sidhu. Handicapped by form: Vikram Rathore, Ajay Jadeja, Anil Kumble. Plagued by injuries: Sanjay Manjrekar, Sunil Joshi. Straddled with overweight players: Narendra Hirwani, Salil Ankola. A club-standard bowler, Paras Mhambrey. A captain who set no example on-field or off, a cricket manager who couldn't draw the line, ice-cold weather, poor umpiring....
If it's difficult to imagine that any good could have come out of a tour from which India returned without a single international win and with the heads of Mohammed Azharuddin and Sandeep Patil plonk on the chopping block, the simultaneous emergence of Saurav Gang-uly, Rahul Dravid and Venk-atesh Prasad should clear the air of despondency more than a little. For, it's around them, and Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath and Nayan Mongia, that the nucleus of future teams will be woven, give or take a casualty or two.
"It was an Indian summer at Lord's," exulted Joseph...
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