Mumbai, April 14: The victory in Kanpur has allowed every one associated with Indian cricket to heave a sigh of relief. Team India have retained the number two spot in the ICC Test rankings, the danger of a humiliating series defeat at home has been everted, and with the IPL just around the corner, there is reason to celebrate.

But wasn’t this series against South Africa no more than a 1-1 draw in India’s own backyard? Shouldn’t it be the Proteas, and not the hosts, who should be patted on their backs?

“As much as we keep talking about how we’ve begun acclimatising better to foreign conditions, even teams from outside the sub-continent have gotten better with the art of surviving here,” says former India captain and coach Ajit Wadekar. “It’s a good sign that we are winning out of India. But credit should be given to teams that are coming here. They’re strategizing better than before and adjusting to the conditions well.”

For India, who won 23 out of 38 Tests at home between 1988 to 2001, the draw was a reminder of how they have become easy targets for foreign teams over the last few seasons. With a series loss to Australia, and draws against teams such as England and New Zealand, India’s aura as the ‘final frontier’ has greatly diminished over the last few years.

“These days, no matter how good our bowling is, teams come here with better gameplans. The idea is to be a step ahead,” adds Wadekar.

Which wicket

So, was the Kanpur Test victory an indicator of what India needs to do to win Test matches at home — stick to the tried and tested method of turning tracks that turn from Day One and make survival impossible after the third afternoon?

It may not be the only option, says former India off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna, but he comes down hard on India’s “confused” approach towards preparing wickets for home series. “We tour countries such as Australia and South Africa keeping in mind that we have to face genuine pace. Likewise, we should know our strengths when teams visit India,” he says.

“If we wanted spinning tracks, we should have had one in Ahmedabad as well. Or, if fast pitches is what we’re looking for, we should have stuck with it. But we realised that a series defeat would be humiliating, and so we backtracked. It’s clear that there is no clear strategy in place on part of the officials,” he says.

For any top team, dominance at home is the key to its reputation. Australia may be a brilliant side in all conditions, but they could not have retained the number one world ranking for so many years without their indomitable record Down Under.

With teams starting to crack the age-old mystery of the sub-continent, India need to set their own house in order before they aim to become the best in the world.