The Indian team did register it's third win of the ongoing World Cup 2011 at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla stadium against minnows the Netherlands, but what must be worrying the legions of Indian cricket fans is the pronounced inability of the frontline spinners to come good and capture wickets by the bushelful even against the so called weaker opposition and the marked tendency of the batsmen to tie themselves up in knots and contrive newer and more unique modes of dismissal.
Dhoni and his band of merry warriors ended up losing five wickets against the fighting Irish while chasing down a modest total of 208 and they did a Houdini again against the Orange Brigade from the Netherlands and were reduced to 99/4 and 130/5 at various stages of their run chase, now this is not what one expects from prospective world champions who ideally should not have lost more than two wickets or at best three in a 190 run chase and the runs required should have been notched up by the end of the thirtieth over.
It again took a mature knock by the pied piper of Punjab Yuvraj Singh to save team India the blushes and guide them home, Yuvraj's measured knock of 51* of 73 balls studded with 7 exquisite boundaries is incidentally his second fifty plus score on the trot and also his second man of the match award in succession. While Yuvraj's much awaited return to form does augur well for the team in it's battles ahead against much tougher opposition, the repeated failures of the top four batsmen to come good must indeed be causing the team management a sleepless night or two. Messrs Sehwag, Tendulkar and Kohli have struggled to repeat the heroics of their hundred plus knocks registered against the Bangladeshis and Englishmen respectively and the trio have failed to notch up even a single score of 35 or more after their afore mentioned sterling exploits.
Their repeated failures must indeed be a cause for concern as the the top four batsmen more often than not are expected to contribute more than 50% of the team's ultimate total in a fifty over game.Gautam Gambhir has been contriving newer and more innovative ways of getting himself out and his new found penchant of getting bowled round his legs with a helpful nudge from his protruding thigh pad must certainly have come to the notice of opposing captain's and bowlers by now and they surely must be devising newer and more innovative ways of exploiting this nocturnal tendency to their advantage in time to come.
Harbhajan's failure to turn the ball in spinner friendly conditions must indeed be a huge cause of worry to the Indian team management as Harbhajan was widely expected to don the mantle of the spin bowling spearhead in the spinner friendly conditions prevailing in the subcontinent but his wicket taking form seems to have deserted him all of a sudden and his meagre returns two wickets from four matches are definitely not commensurate with a bowler of his abilities, Harbhajan seems to be caught between two stools or so it seems when viewed from the outside he seems to be in a conundrum as to whether he should flight the ball and tease and tantalise the opposing batsmen before luring them to their doom or then bowl a tight restrictive line denying the batsmen from the other side the much sought scoring opportunities.
Cricketing experts have been unanimous in their opinion that while Harbhajan has not been bowling badly his inability to impart sidespin on the ball instead of the considerable amount of overspin being imparted by him as of now is reducing the revolutions of the ball in the air and spin of the pitch, Harbhajan needs to go back to his old ways of flighting the ball varying his trajectory and speeds in order to regain both his lost form and wicket taking abilities according to former spinning legends and one can only hope and pray that the doughty Sardar does pay heed to the invaluable advice rendered by erstwhile spinning legends and starts picking up two wickets or more in the remaining matches.
The less said about Piyush Chawla and the Indian team's profligacy on the field the better, here is a bowler who was picked up by the five wise men(?) namely the Indian selectors on a whim and a fancy after languishing in the wilderness for the best part of two years or more and while his terling deeds on the pitch in the practice match gainst the mighty Aussies did seem to vindicate the selectors decision, his subsequent forays on the field must surely have left the selectors falbbergasted and ducking for cover, his meagre return of 2/47 against a team of minnows who are supposed to be clueless against the ball turning away from them does certainly not inspire confidence in the hearts and minds of the Indian supporters.
Dhoni's implausible explanation of including Chawla in the side to give him confidence seems laughable to say the very least as Chawla's exploits must only be serving to dent his confidence rather than reinforcing it and Ashwin';s ouster from the side despite his noteworthy exploits in the limited opportunities accorded to him certainly seems to be stretching the limits of credibility a little too far. India needs to be utterly ruthless in both matters of selection and exploits on the field if it wants to harbour any hopes whatsoever of winning the cup after a lengthy twenty eight year interval.
WIll Messrs Dhoni and company diplay the much needed ruthlessness on the field against the proteas come Saturday or then continue with their profligate ways and nocturnal tendencies, let's all wait and watch.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.
Dhoni and his band of merry warriors ended up losing five wickets against the fighting Irish while chasing down a modest total of 208 and they did a Houdini again against the Orange Brigade from the Netherlands and were reduced to 99/4 and 130/5 at various stages of their run chase, now this is not what one expects from prospective world champions who ideally should not have lost more than two wickets or at best three in a 190 run chase and the runs required should have been notched up by the end of the thirtieth over.
It again took a mature knock by the pied piper of Punjab Yuvraj Singh to save team India the blushes and guide them home, Yuvraj's measured knock of 51* of 73 balls studded with 7 exquisite boundaries is incidentally his second fifty plus score on the trot and also his second man of the match award in succession. While Yuvraj's much awaited return to form does augur well for the team in it's battles ahead against much tougher opposition, the repeated failures of the top four batsmen to come good must indeed be causing the team management a sleepless night or two. Messrs Sehwag, Tendulkar and Kohli have struggled to repeat the heroics of their hundred plus knocks registered against the Bangladeshis and Englishmen respectively and the trio have failed to notch up even a single score of 35 or more after their afore mentioned sterling exploits.
Their repeated failures must indeed be a cause for concern as the the top four batsmen more often than not are expected to contribute more than 50% of the team's ultimate total in a fifty over game.Gautam Gambhir has been contriving newer and more innovative ways of getting himself out and his new found penchant of getting bowled round his legs with a helpful nudge from his protruding thigh pad must certainly have come to the notice of opposing captain's and bowlers by now and they surely must be devising newer and more innovative ways of exploiting this nocturnal tendency to their advantage in time to come.
Harbhajan's failure to turn the ball in spinner friendly conditions must indeed be a huge cause of worry to the Indian team management as Harbhajan was widely expected to don the mantle of the spin bowling spearhead in the spinner friendly conditions prevailing in the subcontinent but his wicket taking form seems to have deserted him all of a sudden and his meagre returns two wickets from four matches are definitely not commensurate with a bowler of his abilities, Harbhajan seems to be caught between two stools or so it seems when viewed from the outside he seems to be in a conundrum as to whether he should flight the ball and tease and tantalise the opposing batsmen before luring them to their doom or then bowl a tight restrictive line denying the batsmen from the other side the much sought scoring opportunities.
Cricketing experts have been unanimous in their opinion that while Harbhajan has not been bowling badly his inability to impart sidespin on the ball instead of the considerable amount of overspin being imparted by him as of now is reducing the revolutions of the ball in the air and spin of the pitch, Harbhajan needs to go back to his old ways of flighting the ball varying his trajectory and speeds in order to regain both his lost form and wicket taking abilities according to former spinning legends and one can only hope and pray that the doughty Sardar does pay heed to the invaluable advice rendered by erstwhile spinning legends and starts picking up two wickets or more in the remaining matches.
The less said about Piyush Chawla and the Indian team's profligacy on the field the better, here is a bowler who was picked up by the five wise men(?) namely the Indian selectors on a whim and a fancy after languishing in the wilderness for the best part of two years or more and while his terling deeds on the pitch in the practice match gainst the mighty Aussies did seem to vindicate the selectors decision, his subsequent forays on the field must surely have left the selectors falbbergasted and ducking for cover, his meagre return of 2/47 against a team of minnows who are supposed to be clueless against the ball turning away from them does certainly not inspire confidence in the hearts and minds of the Indian supporters.
Dhoni's implausible explanation of including Chawla in the side to give him confidence seems laughable to say the very least as Chawla's exploits must only be serving to dent his confidence rather than reinforcing it and Ashwin';s ouster from the side despite his noteworthy exploits in the limited opportunities accorded to him certainly seems to be stretching the limits of credibility a little too far. India needs to be utterly ruthless in both matters of selection and exploits on the field if it wants to harbour any hopes whatsoever of winning the cup after a lengthy twenty eight year interval.
WIll Messrs Dhoni and company diplay the much needed ruthlessness on the field against the proteas come Saturday or then continue with their profligate ways and nocturnal tendencies, let's all wait and watch.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.
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