Well .. this is my first blog … always wanted to be an active blogger but never got started … today it has been an emotional day for me as India went down against England in a match that was more like a “tactical loss” than players shortcomings … with so much to express I believe a blog is a right way to give way to my thoughts …
After a loss to West Indies (WI) in the first Super 8 match it was never going to be easy for India but still given the side, which I feel is the best side in this world cup, it probably didn’t seem so bad … but now we are out of the world cup before playing against the team in FORM, South Africa …
Lets look back a little … as the tournament started … I was very disappointed by the fact that Dhoni was coming at no. 3 instead of the in-form Raina … the warm up match against Pakistan was the first match I saw wherein it didn’t make sense why Dhoni would come at no.3 when he is so good at hitting in later stages of the game wherein his improved maturity not only makes sure that he sees through the innings but also gets lot of runs in the end with his powerful hitting given the fact that he doesn’t have much to lose at that stage … I have seen those type of innings from him in the IPL … and also in the last T20 world cup .. So why take away something one is good at and disturb the winning routine …
Next the exit of Sehwag didn’t seem to be a huge loss at first as we had players who were firing but clearly he was missed … the daring batting display that gets India off to a flyer was missed … I do know that Rohit Sharma played phenomenally but don’t believe he was the correct replacement at the opening slot … he scored well from the start but against whom? … first innings against Pakistan … well… warm up match with Pakistan, who weren’t the best and were trying to come together as a team … ok not bad … then against Bangladesh … ummm ok … then Ireland … good innings but then failed in crucial matches … WI and now England .. Its not that he only played against weaker teams but just that he wasn’t tested enough to replace Sehwag, whose batting in the opening spot gives India a VANTAGE POINT … also Rohit is a fine player lower down the order … may be no. 5 / no. 6 … so who should have opened? … I may be wrong on this one … but I felt Yusuf Pathan is more like our ‘former’ Sehwag [current Sehwag shows much more stability ] who just HITS … who just likes to go behind the bowlers … who can take away the game from the opposition very quickly … Yusuf according to me certainly has that capability … so probably he could have opened with stable Gautam Gambhir who again isn’t in great nick but is still playing well enough …you might lose Yusuf quickly at the top order but if he fires it just gives a huge bonus … the VANTAGE POINT… exactly like Sehwag .. well this is what I feel … just an opinion …
With respect to bowling … well Dhoni has been saying for the last two games that bowlers are bowling their hearts out and are trying their best … well I don’t think he is completely wrong on that but just that I am not sure if he is getting the bowling strategies right. In the match against WI, wherein I felt Ishant wasn’t up to his best was asked to bowl when WI needed 39 of 24 … his bowling in that over wasn’t consistent and caused 16 runs … leaving only 23 to get from 18 … I mean when u are expected to keep it tight … there shouldn’t be experiments … bowl straight around off-stump … with a couple of yorkers … I don’t think Ishant has great discipline in his bowling at this point of time … and hence wasn’t a good choice … two good T20 bowlers were never tried out, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina … both were impressive in IPL … so basically after a very good over from Harbhajan we needed something similar and restrict WI further. Now, in today’s match … again Ishant was hit everywhere … it was frustrating to see that a good bowler, RP Singh, with figures of 13 runs in 3 overs and 1 wicket wasn’t given his full quota of 4 overs and bowler like Ishant who is not at his best right now gets 4 full overs … and guess what 36 runs came of his 4 overs … it just doesn’t make sense … plus Yusuf who has got some bowling experience in this T20 world cup didn’t bowl today and Yuvi was asked to bowl 2 overs that went for 20 runs … well there was history there … the fact that Yuvi took Pieterson in almost all matches in India made Dhoni look at this option but it was a different environment … different set-up .. so.. not so sure about that move … again “too many strategies” …
With respect to selection for this crucial match against England, Ravindra Jadega came in to replace Ojha … well not a bad move … because Jadega is a good all rounder … but then they left Irfan behind and got RP Singh and retained Ishant Sharma … COME ON … !!! gimme a break … Irfan Pathan’s bowling is much better than Ishant Sharma’s… also he can bat brilliantly … remember the knock called “Pathan Brothers special” against Sri Lanka … Irfan played a significant role exhibiting his talent and proving his worth as a bowler-cum-batsmen … no clue why there is so much support for Ishant … I am not against him but he is not playing well and wasn’t the right choice at this point of time and further doesn’t deserve a spot when better players are on the bench … Keeping him out for a couple of games will make him fight back for his spot and also help him realize the importance of a position in a side.
Lets talk about Yuvi … why was he asked to come at no.5 today … I m pretty sure Dhoni got it wrong there as it was evident from his reaction when questioned about the same during the presentation ceremony … u know u have a player in form .. get the most of him … I really don’t understand this cautious attitude of our team that is clearly visible in the last two games … be champions and face the music … why do you want to protect Yuvi who is actually nothing but a serious danger to the opposition … you should let players like him play for more overs than letting lesser competent players consume majority of the innings giving smaller benefits … Jadega, who wasn’t bad, failed to score briskly and in turn added extra and rather unnecessary pressure on Yuvi … what do you expect … one more 36 run phenomenon of 6 balls … he is a great T20 player and a match winner but for him to perform he should get opportunity to play enough overs and sufficient time …
To be honest, there are many areas that can be looked at to understand our exit from the T20 world cup but as I said at the start, that it was more of a “tactical loss” than anything else … too many strategies … too many changes … bowling combinations … batting order … right bowlers … too much reliance on Yuvi … leaving things till the end … etc
Any ways its over for now … but want to finish off saying that I still believe our team was the BEST team in comparison to all other teams in this world T20 … I feel its even better than South Africa who are favorites this time … so its really unfortunate to go back so soon … Also I believe MS Dhoni is the most eligible captain for our side … I have written a lot about his decisions and have given not so great opinions about him but this is how he will evolve into an awesome captain … sometimes failure is the best way to understand one’s shortcomings and his leadership can only get better from now … I love our team and I hope that we beat South Africa in style to leave this tournament with pride and show the rest of the world what we really are as a side …
Lastly what ever I have written is my personal opinion and I can be wrong on certain things … so apologies for that …Adios …
Cheers…
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As cool as MSD is, he is human. Though I feel Yuvi shud open and take maximum overs, we also need to understand that Yuvi should not be another Tendulkar. We need Rohit and Suresh to click and take on pressure situations. I was madder at Team India for surrendering meekly to WI than losing to England by just 3 runs. Having said that, I feel Yusuf Pathan at #3 after a quick wicket would have created an opportunity to run away with the game early on. Remember IPL final a yr ago? Besides that.....good start to the blogging career man!
ReplyDeleteWell this was the first series where DHONi faltered tactically
ReplyDeletehe should have kept raina at no 3 from first match
suddenly in big match bringing him at 3 and he going din make any sense at all
poor raina suffered
wonder why ojha was removed
harbhajan is getting more frustrating day by day . those 10 runs wide were highly showcasing his inconsistency in thinking
also ishant was a big flop
balled well though in practise match and never came up with similar performance in match
india lost because india played badly and not because west indies or england were good
Its good tht dhoni admits his mistake and he is majorly responsible for this performance
the invincible dhoni has a black spot now
lets see how he reacts
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMannu, good start for first blog :) I agree to most of your opinions. I would like to add on Sharma opening the batting - he is in form player and very destructive one. So, going with him as an opener or Pathan should not make a difference. It was unfortunate that he got out cheaply in crucial matches. Dhoni did lot of strategical errors, may be he could not handle pressure this time. Coming at number 3 did no wonders to his form but definitely dented Raina's confidence. The Raina we saw in IPL was nowhere seen in WC!! That was a big blow to India with Sehwag being out with injury. Also, I still dont get this - crucial match, we win the toss and still out pressure on ourselve by batting second - WTF! If, we think our batting is stronger then go bat first, pile up the run mountain and then any team would crumble under pressure irrespective of quality of bowling!!
ReplyDeleteLets talk about bowling - Bhajji bowled beautifully but again lack of discipline caused us 10 wides and horresdous fielding by our #1 fielder Yuvi!! We lacked in body language, wonder if it was lack of confidence or just over confidence. Inclusion of Ishant Sharma and leaving Ojha out was the biggest mistake anyone can ever do and I am saying Ojha because England have not played him that much, so being an orthodox spinner, he would have been a great asset against England as compared to Pathan, who was playing well but Eng would have played him better than Ojha!
All in all, India was kicked out because of Dhoni's mistakes rather than lack of talent. However, I believe that solution to this problem is not removing Dhoni from his position but he needs get his act right ASAP! I think he became lil unsecured due to his failure with bat in IPL and one thing led to another.
This is definitely not the end of the world for our team. Its a very young team and they have wonderful future ahead of them under Dhoni's captaincy!
To wrap up, congrats Mannu, on starting your blog - its a big step that I never took but now even bigger step is to continue doing it :)
and yeah, don't apologize for anything you write - its your blog, your opinion. If anyone has issues with it, then its their problem, not yours :)
First of all congos for ur first blog. For a first timer its very well organised and you have put evrything into perspective that you wanted to address.
ReplyDeleteFirst , I completely agree when you say that Dhoni is better off as a finisher.He suddenly gets these urges to bat higher in the order.
The worst part is that he is trying to remodel himself on the biggest stage: Dhoni’s USP, as we all know, was his big-hitting ability and serenity in the dying stages. For quite some time now, he is trying to temper his batting, improve his defenses and evolve as a complete batsman. (Aside: is he planning to give up keeping in the future?)In the IPL, where he didn’t have enough backup in the middle order, it was a reasonable gambit. But when he has a power-packed lineup why should he take so much unrequired load? But I dont think sending Yusuf as an opener is going to help.HE doesnt have the same hand eye coordination as sehwag though he has the same brute power.You need some good defence as an opener and I dont think yusuf possesses that.
Second, I agree that Sehwag's absence was felt. But I think this Indian team being the world champions need to adapt itself without key players.After all ,we hve been without Sachin ,Dravid and Dada for many times now.
Third and most importantly, I do nnot think it was a tactical error so much as a technical error and also some other reasons. We Indian team for long now have been exposed to technical pitfalls when it comes to short pitched bowling. And the face that vidoes footages are being used to the full nowdays by teams doesnt help. We need to improve our pull shorts and cuts so that we can can play with an horizontal bat .Unless we do that ,we are going to get sorted out. None of the players in this current team are certain against short balls.
It was also a case of fatigue with the Indian team. The players have literally been on the run for almost a year now. And its beginning to take its toll on players. you could sense the resignation in the team’s body-language too. It was neither anywhere near its peak form, nor burning with intensity or raging for victory.
I hope I am clear with my points of view. These are compltely dependent in the way each person views it .Kudos to your blog..Keep continuing the good work.
hmmm..pretty interesting..
ReplyDeleteManish