Indian cricket: Opportunity during adversity

India’s Shikhar Dhawan celebrates his century during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and West Indies at The Oval in London, England on June 11, 2013.

As I write, India has already clinically won four games on the trot in the Champions Trophy being held in England, two of them being friendlies. MS Dhoni’s boys have not only lived up to the expectations of being World Champions, but have also ensured a berth in the semi-finals of this marquee tournament; this is going to be their first semi-final appearance since 2002.

I must say that there’s something about this Indian team that I missed when the squad was first announced in May. Perhaps not the greatest line-up on paper in terms of experience, there were enough apprehensions when the likes of Yuvraj and Gambhir didn’t find a place in the final squad. However, the younger players have reveled in such a scenario and have sufficiently done their bit to prove a number of detractors wrong. Standing out in that list have been three men – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ever since he scored that blistering debut Test hundred against Australia at Mohali earlier this year, there has been no looking back for Shikhar Dhawan. He has notched up two back-to-back ODI hundreds against South Africa and West Indies in alien conditions.  It’s not just the hundreds, but the manner in which he scored them that stands out; and considering that he opened the innings, from the team’s point of view, it led to the foundation that helped in setting up the score in the first match and chasing down a tricky target in the second game.

I admit that I am not a big fan of Rohit Sharma, purely because I feel that he is such a waste of talent. His lazy elegance that has been heralded by pundits has often led to his downfall. With his tendency to play late, it’s often led to him playing down the wrong line or getting played on. No one can forget the horrendous tour to Sri Lanka that reaped him eleven runs in five matches less than a year ago. To still find himself in the ODI setup proves that he has been provided a longer rope than others and this might just be that moment in time where he starts making the most of the chances. His stable partnership with Dhawan at the top of the order ensured that the danger of the two new balls from both the ends was negated almost perfectly. While I do believe that he could have used his half centuries as launch pads for bigger scores, credit must go to whosoever in the team management thought that Rohit could be made into an opener. Considering the fact that Rohit has that little bit of extra time to play his shots and enjoys the ball coming onto his bat, opening might just be the ideal place for him. Is this going to be a new lease of life for Rohit Sharma? Only time can answer that question.