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India's one-day resurgence

Amit Varma

May 20, 2006

Job well done: Rahul Dravid says that empowering the youngsters was key to India's success © Getty Images

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Streaming audio: Real :: WMA

What a hot streak India are on. They've won 19 of their last 25 one-day internationals, and 17 chases in a row. The combination of Greg Chappell (whose appointment was announced exactly a year ago) and Rahul Dravid has certainly turned the one-day team around, but before one celebrates too much, it would do well to remember that the Sourav Ganguly-John Wright combination was similarly hyped once, and we all know what happened to them.

In this audio feature, we examine exactly what Chappell and Dravid have done right - and what lies ahead for them. Harsha Bhogle, Sambit Bal and Rahul Dravid share their views on this. They examine the reasons for India's extended slump before the turnaround - Harsha speaks of India's rigidity, Sambit elaborates on how Ganguly's personal problems affected the team. Both men also speak about how Chappell and Dravid complement each other, both in terms of temperament and approach.

We look at some of the causes of the turnaround. Harsha speaks of how Chappell is trying to break away from the "cult of the individual," while Dravid describes on how the key to this success lay in empowering the youngsters in the side, and on how flexibility has been a key to India's recent success.

It isn't all rosy, though. Harsha feels that while Ganguly was a rigid thinker, Chappell is "rigid about his flexibility". He also points out that most of India's hot streak has taken place in the subcontinent, and greater tests lie ahead.

To listen to the full conversation, download the MP3 now . Streaming audio: Real :: WMA

(Note: this feature was recorded before this series against West Indies began.)

In case you didn't catch our first installment of Caribbean Memories, in which Salim Durani told us about how he plotted the dismissals of Garry Sobers and Clive Lloyd in 1971, you can download the MP3 here, or read about it here.

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Stories

Yuvraj's golden run, and Sehwag's lean trot

Players/Umpires

Greg Chappell

MS Dhoni

Rahul Dravid

Irfan Pathan

Suresh Raina

Series/Tournaments

India tour of West Indies

Teams

India

West Indies