Do Indian sportspersons lack the killer instinct?

I love watching and following sports, especially Indian sport. We are a perennially under- achieving nation in sport. Part of the reason is talent, part of it is the lack of infrastructure, but a large part seems to be lack of agression, the lack of mental toughness and just a lack of self belief in being able to beat the best. The one game India is good at is cricket and if today's events at The Oval against England is anything to go by, Rahul Dravid proved that he mentally incapable of pressing home advantage even when it is there for the taking.

The Indian cricket captain today was unusually defensive, intent on playing for a draw when India had a real chance of winning the contest against England. Instead, he preferred to defend, took a good 91 deliveries to score his first boundary and a strike rate that barely got inot double figures, so much so that when he did take a single, there were cheers all across the ground. This mindset was baffling to say the least. India are 1 up in the series and had a lead of over 300 when Dravid came into bat. There were no real demons in the wicket, only in Dravid's head and the more defensive he got, the more aggressive he allowed the Englishmen to be. Great sportsmen shine through courage and ability to stand up when under pressure. Dravid inflicted pressure on himself and his team-mates and while India are likely to win this series, today's afternoon was not one of their best.

Indian sportsmen have never lacked talent, they have lacked self belief and ability to get completely on top of the opposition. In this day and age, that can make all the different between being good and great!