Morgan takes dead Indian cricket to the morgue

Eoin Morgan (49 off 26) hit a six off the last ball to win the match for England (FILE PHOTO).

India were once again in familiar territory, losing the 2nd T20 encounter in Mumbai. Headlines tomorrow are going to read “Humiliation continues, will India ever learn?”. India batted well to put up a total of 177, thanks to terrific cameos from Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. But their contributions proved insufficient for the hosts, who limped off the field after the thorough beating they received by the hands of English batsmen, aided by some poor bowling and sloppy fielding.

Parvinder Awana started off the proceedings with a misfield on the very first ball, letting the ball go to the boundary. It was only three extra runs in the context of the match, but it has been a constant problem for India for far too long. There isn’t any bowler in India who could be termed as a terrific fielder. Bowlers have always neglected their fielding routines and it has been hurting Indian cricket for a very long time now. Had it been Raina at deep square leg when Hales offered a catch, the result could have been very different today. It has been a general feeling among Indian players that fielding isn’t as important as batting or bowling.

Indians have always carried the tag of being lazy on the field and it isn’t anything new for them. England on the other hand, fielded brilliantly, showing Indians how it is done. Although India has some talented youngsters in the team, they failed to reflect it on the scoreboard, continuously leaking runs.

India’s bowling was no different from its fielding, being equally bad. Fans are clamouring for the inclusion of youngsters in the team, and this is what youngsters have got to offer? I have seen bowlers erring while trying to execute their plans, but the Indian bowlers offered a loose ball for every good one they bowled. It has been India’s bane for quite some time now and the board should definitely look into it as fast as possible.

Morgan played a captain’s knock to take England home, and nothing can be taken away from his efforts. He was well supported by Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and Michael Lumb. It was a spirited performance from the Englishmen and Morgan has a good future in store for him as the skipper of England.

BCCI should take care of young bowlers and India aspirants by nurturing their all round talent, be it batting, bowling or fielding. In cricket, especially in T20, each aspect is as important as the other as England showed us today, and it should act as a wakeup call for the board.

Despite a few good individual performances, India didn’t deserve to win tonight, and I choose to hold the bowlers responsible for this defeat, just like on numerous occasions previously. India needs to improve its overall skills, especially as a bowling and fielding unit. There are no short cuts to attain victory, a lesson that Indian players should better learn after this loss.