By Ian Prince
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If England had any doubt whatsoever they had brought Indian cricket to its knees over the course of the past two Tests, they only had to listen to the words of Virender Sehwag after a momentous day?s play at Eden Gardens.
It ended with the home side just 32 runs ahead on 239 for nine, with just the lone tail-end resistance of Ravichandran Ashwin keeping them alive.
Sehwag, one of a number of ageing ?galacticos? in the India dressing room, summed up the mood perfectly when he said: ?It?s disappointing. I hope something can happen but only God can help us now.?
When the opposition are praying for divine intervention, you know you have them exactly where you want them. Acts of God permitting, England will have wrapped up victory early this morning to take a 2-1 lead in the series and open up the mother of all inquests into the state of a cricketing dynasty in decline.
Serious question: Duncan Fletcher's record as India coach is underwhelming
First in the firing line will be Duncan Fletcher, the Zimbabwean who coached England for eight years and who is almost certain to find himself out of a job when his contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India expires in April.
Back-to-back 4-0 whitewashes in England and Australia when he was new to the role were overlooked. Losing a first home series since 2004, or even the threat of such an occurrence, is enough for the BCCI to pull the lever on the guillotine.
Whipping boys: India could lose a home series for the fist time in eight years
That it is England who will tap the executioner on the shoulder will no doubt irk Fletcher, who left his post at the ECB after the twin humiliations of a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia and an abject World Cup campaign in the Caribbean.
As well as Fletcher, the groundsman at Eden Gardens, 83-year-old Prabir Mukherjee, is also in the BCCI?s crosshairs after they lodged an official complaint to the Cricket Association of Bengal over the pitch.
Never mind the fact the hosts won the toss and had first use of a wicket made for batting, India are looking for scapegoats. Last weekend, Mukherjee branded India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni?s request for a pitch which turns from day one as ?immoral?.
Yesterday, it emerged the BCCI have asked the CAB to tell Mukherjee to fall in line in future or face the sack. That, though, did not stop the outspoken octogenarian criticising the most influential man in world cricket, BCCI president? N Srinivasan. ?Let him say whatever he wants to,? said Mukherjee. ?I don?t listen to him.?
He might also have done well to advise Srinivasan that India?s problems run far deeper than just the state of a pitch.
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