Those who follow Indian cricket must have been at a loss of words to describe the way the team has been playing in England. So epic has been the capitulation of the Indians, who were the number one Test team in the world for the best part of two years, that words like humiliation and whitewash seem incapable of summarising the tragedy.
India suffered their third heaviest defeat in Tests on Saturday and by the time S. Sreesanth edged one to Kevin Pietersen, watching the team play had become a strain on the eyes, mind and heart.
Once the dust settles on what is left of the current Indian team, answers will have to be sought as to what could have possibly gone wrong. There can't be one single factor for such annihilation. But there are certainly a few which can be collectively held responsible.
The Indians were simply not prepared for the series; players broke down at crucial junctures; M.S. Dhoni didn't have the firstchoice team at his disposal; the Indians are playing too much cricket; England are simply too good and have put in their all to win the series… the list is quite long.
Let's look back at what happened this year. India had a full tour of South Africa, including three Tests and five one-dayers. After that came the World Cup. Being held in the subcontinent, India wanted to win it badly. The pressure and expectations were so high that the players admitted by the time the knockout stages came, they couldn't eat properly and threw up regularly.
Emotionally and physically, the Indians were drained by the time they tamed the Aussies, overpowered Pakistan and lorded over the Sri Lankans.
Lifting the coveted trophy after 28 years at home should have meant a long break for the battered mind and body of the players. But six days after Dhoni deposited Nuwan Kulasekara over the mid-on boundary in Mumbai, the players were back to the field for the Indian Premier League, this time their corporate bosses holding the reins.
So instead of cooling down after putting themselves through the ultimate grind, they threw themselves into the maniacal cauldron of T20 cricket. And before long the wheels started to wobble.
Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir injured their right shoulders. Sehwag chose to play as long as the Delhi Daredevils were mathematically in the tournament. The day they were out, Sehwag was ruled injured and he flew to Germany to treat his shoulder. Gambhir said he wasn't informed about the full extent of his injury by the Knight Riders' physios, and that probably aggravated his condition.
When the IPL jamboree finally ended on May 28, the players decided to take a break. So putting aside national interests, they decided to give the West Indies series, which followed soon after the IPL, a miss. Some players opted out of the entire tour or part of it, citing injury, fatigue and various other reasons. Sachin Tendulkar did not tour the Caribbean, Dhoni didn't play in the ODIs, Zaheer Khan rested his hamstring and ankle.
How and why did the players agree to play in the IPL and not in the West Indies has very little to do with cricket. It is a nobrainer that money power silenced cricketing logic.
Arriving in England with hardly any practice as a team - no Sehwag for the first two Tests; the fitness of pace spearhead Zaheer untested and just one practice game under their belt - it was a disaster waiting to happen. And it was a disaster unlike anything seen by this generation.
10 steps to disaster
1. Zaheer's hamstring: India's pace spearhead injured his hamstring on the first day of the first Test at Lord's. India had pinned all its hopes on one man and it all went downhill from there.
2. Sachin's viral: Sachin Tendulkar was indisposed due to a viral infection with India needing to bat out almost four session to save the first Test.
3. Gambhir's elbow hit: Got hit on the elbow after Matt Prior swept one straight at him. Was in considerable pain and missed the second Test. Struggled while batting at Lord's as his hand movement was restricted.
4. Broad-Swann stand: India had reduced England to 124 for eight on the first day at Nottingham. But a counter-attacking partnership between Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann took England to 221 on a bowler's wicket.
5. Broad hat-trick: In Trent Bridge, India had another chance to shut England out of the game when they were well placed at 267 for four. But Broad picked up a hat-trick as India collapsed to 288 all out. A possible lead of 150 and more became just 67.
6. Harbhajan's stomach strain: Dhoni was again short of bowling options in the second innings at Trent Bridge as Harbhajan Singh developed a stomach strain. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina took up the bowling responsibilities and England carted them around gleefully.
7. Butterfingers: With a number of straightforward catches dropped so far, including Rahul Dravid dropping sitters at first slip and MS Dhoni struggling to collect deliveries, Indian fielding sunk to depths rarely seen in international cricket.
8. Lack of killer instinct: India had a golden chance to finish off England on the first two days of the second Test and also restrict them at Lord's when the hosts were 107 for six. But they let them off the hook and have been thrashed as a result.
9. Sehwag's king's pair: All eyes were on Virender Sehwag, returning from a shoulder surgery. Whether or not he was match-fit wasn't looked into and despite his failure in the warm-up against Northants, it was hoped he would come good on match day. The king's pair at Edgbaston dashed India's hopes.
10. Birmingham shootout: With Sehwag failing and England batsmen scoring runs at will, the writing was on the wall by the second day itself. England scored a little less than 400 runs on Day Two and Team India was simply waiting for the last rites.
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