LONDON: It was a dream scenario, to begin with. Sachin Tendulkar on the brink of a 100th century; VVS Laxman one epic away from rectifying his flawed England record; and Rahul Dravid coming 'home' to where it all began.
Each would conjure his own moment of glory, of brilliance and of perfection to make it the greatest Indian summer; the kings would go on to conquer the challengers too and become emperors to live happily ever after.
But then, dreams are implanted to be shattered; hopes are created to be dashed and promises are made to be smashed. So, suddenly, India are on the edge of seeing it all turn into their worst nightmare. Once again.
It was way back in 1999-2000 that they had last lost every match of the series. The T20 generation might still have faint memories of that humbling; but it will surely not recall the earlier decimation, the complete rout prior to that.
It needs to go to 1974 for that. The summer of 42, as it was darkly called for the number of runs scored by India in the second innings at Lord's, is probably one of the most painful chapters in Indian cricket.
Ajit Wadekar was forced to retire as anger turned into a false crusade in the country; worse, though, he will remember the stones hurdled at his home, and the abuses at his family. The other players too won't have forgotten the ugly face of their own fans.
Times have changed since then, of course; India have become champions too in every format of the game. But, are the fans mature enough to forgive, if not forget? Will they see this as just another dream gone sour? Or is disaster still lurking in the shadows?
Ironically, just like Wadekar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni too is known as the captain with the magical touch; sadly, he has also lost at least some of it and is being assailed by bad luck, injuries and poor form from every side. He is already a man cornered.
The fourth and final Test, beginning here at the Oval on Thursday, will therefore be his grimmest test. He will have to dig really deep into his magic bag to turn this around; at the same time, he will have to reignite the players with hope, spirit and a little bit of a fight.
For, every minor setback has the potential to devour not only him but the entire team too.
Sadly, the signs are ominous. Virender Sehwag has just come from a king pair; Suresh Raina leaves a lot to be desired at Number 6; Praveen Kumar is battling to be fit for the game; S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra have rarely looked destructive, individually or collectively.
The reserves are not pushing hard enough either to lift those who are down. Virat Kohli had a long session on Wednesday but is unlikely to be brought in; Munaf Patel though has a good chance of sneaking into the sign. Beyond all that though, there are some good portents too. England are sweating over strike bowler James Anderson's thigh; Chris Tremlett has still not recovered from his injury; and most importantly , India have not been beaten at the Oval since 1959.
The Oval is much more batsman-friendly and the pitch doesn't look so green either; there is the fear of rain too, at least on the first day of the Test.
And maybe, just maybe, that dream scenario will yet materialize; maybe, Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid will each score that promised hundred; and maybe, it won't end up being such a nightmare either.
