Rest of India's batsmen muffed up a grand opportunity to settle all the debate

It was nicely set up for India's four best middle-order batsmen, atleast on current form and fitness, to display their wares.

They were at two ends of the spectrum called Indian cricket, but only one stood tall, but only just.

Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were the established pair of the Indian line-up who are still avoiding the chopping block. At the other end you had Mohd Kaif and S Badrinath who are trying to force their way into the Indian Test line-up.

But what followed was utterly disappointing. The Indian veterans and the hopefuls did not make anything of the godsent opportunity to earn some confidence before a big series.

With Sourav Ganguly already out of the equation, this game provided the perfect opportunity for India's middle-order claimants to settle all debates. But the ongoing Irani Cup has only further complicated the debate.

First up Dravid and Badrinath ate up time to get set in the middle. Badrinath in particular took time adjusting to India's pace sensation Ishant Sharma, Dravid looked to be sizing himself up for the big battle kicking off in Bangalore in two weeks' time.

In their attempt to adjust to their own gameplans, both Badrinath and Dravid lost an opportunity. Badrinath in particular came to this game with high hopes and with rightful claim that he has been undone by selectorial prejudices. But in the end, Badri ended up doing his case no justice.

He has one more chance - against the Austalians in the tour game - but the fight for the reserve batsman's slot could then end up in a four-way battle between Badri, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.

But the more disappointing aspect of the day was the showing of Kaif. Here was a man who had been drafted in at the cost of one-fourth of the Fab Four, but he flattered to deceive not once but twice.

Kaif came into this game not just with the runs, but also with the backing of the selectors. The right-hander from Uttar Pradesh failed to justify his promotion, thereby raising further uncomfortable questions for the new set of selectors.

What will help the cause of the likes of Kaif is the fact that the new selection committee will be 'guided' by what the old panel decided and will not want to change the course of action. So Kaif and even Badrinath can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

For the veterans though, it was yet another day in the year when they just did not seem to get going. Dravid clearly lacks the fluency of his salad days of 2003-04 and it showed in his display. He held up one end, but sadly never looked in command.

Laxman on his part started off looking to make an impact, but his stiff back coupled with some tight spin bowling from Virender Sehwag and Chetanya Nanda ensured that he never got away.

In both innings at Vadodara, he fell to poor shot selection rather than the bowler forcing him to make a mistake. On the cusp of joining the 100-Test club, Laxman certainly does not need to prove anything to anyone.

But if Laxman has to ward off the threats from the younger claimants, he has to start putting a price on his wicket, or else the loose talk around him would start all over again.

Only one star emerged from the batting ruins at Baroda. As if we did not know enough about him already, MS Dhoni grabbed the initiative and set the stage for Rest of India to push the lead forward.

Dhoni showed what India missed in the last Test series in Sri Lanka, a batsman at No 6 or No 7 to grab the bull by the horns and add momentum to the innings. Dhoni did that in good measure and showed how much of a force he could be in a fortnight.

The question now is when the real stuff begins, will MSD be left waging a lone battle with the tail after Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have set the platform?