Winning and losing is part of cricket. But over the past decade, there have been a few defeats in Indian cricket that will always rankle Indian cricket and its supporters. The loss at Barbados in '97 chasing a mere 120 is one of them. The Chennai debacle against Pakistan is another that instantly comes to mind. And seeing the reactions from all quarters to the Bangalore defeat on Monday, one gets the feeling this Test would also fall in that same category. And people have every right to be disappointed.

For a team considered to have the best batting line-up in the world, India put up an insipid show to say the least. It wasn't as if they were playing on a vicious turner. Nor did the opposition bowlers consist of the Wasims and Waqars. Yet the Indian batsmen could not hold on for two sessions despite having nine wickets in the bag at lunch. It certainly raises serious questions about the ability of the Indian batting line-up.

The defeat can be put down to quite a few reasons. The toss is not something that much can be done about. But to be fair to Ganguly, calling correctly gave Inzamam and his team a big advantage. And from there on they totally dominated the Test except for when their nemesis Virender Sehwag was at the crease. Despite this, India should have saved the Test but for their ultra-defensive approach. The Indian batsmen could have taken a lesson from the way Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq batted on the last day at Mohali despite their side being six down.

One has to give full credit to the visitors though. When Pakistan arrived on the Indian shores, many had described it as the weakest team to ever tour India. Neither did many of them have faith in Inzamam and his men to pull of a victory in the series. But the Pakistani team have certainly proved every one wrong with their Bangalore encore.

Pakistan must be thankful for not having dropped Younis Khan after his disappointing show at Mohali. It proved to be a decisive decision as the vice-captain led his team's charge at Bangalore. Along with his skipper Inzamam, Khan set up the game beautifully for Pakistan on day one. His innings was a perfect example of a great Test knock. On the opening day when Inzamam was going all guns blazing in his 100th Test, Younis preferred to play the second fiddle. But once the skipper fell early the next day, he took over and was pivotal in helping Pakistan post a giant total even as Harbhajan kept knocking the others down with a six-wicket haul.

Once Pakistan knew they couldn't lose the game, the pressure was always going to be on the home side to save the game. But except for Sehwag, none of the others from the much-vaunted batting line-up could make full use of the great batting conditions. The opener got a superb double century, continuing his Bradmanesque form against Pakistan. But once he was dismissed, the innings fell apart. It was thanks to VVS Laxman, under severe pressure to retain his spot in the Test team, and his last wicket partnership with Kumble that India managed to reduce the Pakistani lead, which still ended up being a substantial one.

If the Indian batsmen faltered, the bowling also disappointed at Bangalore. Irfan Pathan looked out of sorts throughout the series and his lack of form is a major cause for concern since he's been such a vital component of the team over the last 12 months. Anil Kumble batted resolutely, but had a pretty forgettable game as a bowler on his home ground. Fellow spinner Harbhajan Singh had a good stint, but it wasn't enough to stop Pakistan from posting a huge total.

The biggest worry for India at this moment though is the captain himself. Sourav Ganguly has been under some tremendous pressure for quite some time now owing to his consistent string of low scores. And his performance in this series isn't going to help matters. True, Sourav has been a great captain for India since he took over. But we cannot afford to have a non-playing captain whose batting is a liability to the team. If he doesn't perform in the one-dayers too, the selectors might well put a temporary halt to Ganguly's international career.

Before the series began, there was a lot of hype surrounding Tendulkar's 35th ton. But the 'Little Master' has only himself to blame for missing out on the milestone. He batted too slowly at Mohali, which in a sense also cost India the Test, and his batting approach remained the same throughout the series compounding India's batting woes. It's not to say that he must bat like a Sehwag, something that he used to do in his earlier days. But it is his positive approach to batting which has got him loads of runs in international cricket and one sees no reason why he must change that. In fact, the last time he really batted freely was on a minefield at Mumbai against Australia, and his half-century went a long way in helping India secure a win against the World Champions. That must be ample proof of what works well for both Sachin and India. He tried to play a totally defensive game at Bangalore. But being unnatural to him, it was just a matter of time before the curtains came down on his innings. Sachin is no Steve Waugh who could have saved the Test for his country in graver situations with a dogged approach and he shouldn't try to be one for the sake of Indian cricket.

The loss at Bangalore meant the series ended level at 1-1, but there is not an iota of doubt as to which would be the happier of the two camps going into the one-day series, which promises to be another exciting encounter.

Pakistan will certainly go into the one-dayers with renewed confidence and a bunch of players who believe that they can upset the Indian applecart. If one has to stick his neck out, it might as well be said that looking at the composition of the two sides, the visitors will start as favourites. The likes of Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq will be doubly dangerous in the shorter format while the other batsmen too have played themselves into good nick. India had struggled to dismiss Inzamam time and again in the one-day series in Pakistan last year and he could once again play a big role for his team. It will only help the Pakistanis to have a keeper who has had a great Test series with both bat and gloves.

While there are so many positives for Pakistan, the same cannot be said about India despite the fact that they drew the series 1-1. As mentioned elsewhere in this article, this might be Sourav's last chance to resurrect his sinking international career and also save his captaincy in the process. India would dearly hope for Sehwag to continue with his blistering form while the refreshing presence of young guns Kaif and Yuvraj should help to lift the sagging spirits of the 'Men In Blue'.

The pressure though will definitely be on India as they were expected to be the favourites at the start of the series. But after their highly disappointing show at Bangalore, they will have to work that much harder to retain their spots in the hearts of Indian cricket lovers.