Ahmedabad Test peters out to a tame end There were no stirring tales to be told at the end of the fifth day at Ahmedabad. The cricket was mundane; the batsmen ground away while the bowlers toiled under the hot sun without any significant rewards. Talking of landmarks, Deep Dasgupta and Shiv Sunder Das put on a century opening stand – both making individual half-centuries. When stumps were drawn after 90 excruciating overs, India had scored 181 runs losing three wickets including that of little master Sachin Tendulkar – nowhere near the 357 they needed to secure a win. But Sourav Ganguly, for one, was not unhappy with the draw. "Even though we were well placed after lunch, and the openers had given us a good start, when (Shiv Sunder) Das got out, we still needed 250 in less than two sessions, and that is quite a bit against defensive fields. We then looked to merely bat the day out," the Indian captain said in his team’s defence.

Nothing gung-ho about Hussain Nasser Hussain, the India-born England captain, has won praise from all quarters for the admirable way in which he has led his inexperienced squad during the tour of India. A great communicator whose press-conferences are always a joy to be at, Hussain was realistic while summing up the draw that his rejuvenated side secured at Ahmedabad. When asked if he felt his team had secured a moral victory at Motera, Hussain said, “I am not fussed about moral victories. I just want us to be as good as we can be. And I thought for five days this side was as good as it can be, and that is all I can ask of them. I was very pleased with them, so we will enjoy this moment.” The England captain was also eloquent in his defence of what some observers felt was a late declaration. “It was mainly because of the nature of the wicket. I did not think that the wicket was as bad as everyone was making it out to be. Our bowling line-up is an inexperienced one, and the bowlers have toiled and toiled. Ashley Giles was coming back from a lay-off, Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff had niggles. I thought it was a pretty fair target that we set India on a flat wicket.” As for Bangalore and thoughts of squaring the series, Hussain refused to commit himself. “We have still got to work out a way of getting 20 wickets if we want to win a Test match. The last two wickets that we have played on showed how hard that can be. I do not know what the wicket is going to be like at Bangalore.”

Wright says it best John Wright, the Indian coach, is a man whose future is very much on the line. But the affable former New Zealand captain still retains an air of imperturbability about him. He was his usual calm self when he met journalists on Monday, ahead of the third and final Test at Bangalore. “Despite the draw at Ahmedabad, there is no pressure on us. We are looking forward to the Test and to lifting our performances.” He was also ready to give credit where it was due. “England played well above themselves at Ahmedabad,” he said while lauding Nasser Hussain’s men. India though had not even played anywhere near their potential and the Indian coach was fully aware of the fact. When asked what was the greatest lesson from that Test for his team, Wright said, “We need to learn to hold our catches!”

Erapalli Prasanna is most impressed by Nasser Hussain in whom he finds shades of Tiger Pataudi. Click Here Take a trip down memory lane and relive the excitement of past India-England battles. Click Here Want to know what the visiting captain is feeling ahead of the all-important Test at Bangalore? We present Nasser Hussain's Captain's Diary.