West Indies tri-series 2013: Match 4 - India vs WI - India Preview
10 days after 5 consecutive victories and a Champions Trophy win, 2 back to back defeats have brought out the naysayers again
Barely 10 days after clinching the Champions Trophy title, doomsday seems to have arrived for some Indian cricket fans.
The “closely-reaching-
(I wonder if Dhoni, Raina and Kohli have actually started picking up words in Sinhalese after years of trying to decode opposition’s conversations in the middle.)
Burnout is the word being bandied around for India’s insipid performance; and while it may be true, even the fans are suffering from a somewhat similar issue to care too much about it. The BCCI would be least worried about TV viewership for now, probably relieved that the IPL spot-fixing drama has been pushed under the rug with the Champions Trophy win.
Moving onto the on-field issues. Despite the twin losses, there doesn’t seem to be too much pressure on the players from the outside. Even after being ruled out of the tri-series, MS Dhoni has decided to stay back. Although his presence provides Kohli an uncertain control over the squad, it would keep the mood of this young team stable even after the worst of losses.
Let’s face it; it wasn’t supposed to be an important series. How many fans who’re ‘worried’ about the current state of affairs under Kohli’s leadership actually remember what transpired in 2010 in Zimbabwe when India finished third behind Sri Lanka as well as the hosts in the tri-series? The likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin, Jadeja and Murali Vijay, who are also in the current squad, gained valuable experience though.
Recalling the proceedings of the previous two matches, India’s batting has been a massive failure, especially after the exploits in England. Yes, the openers were in Midas touch there, but the middle and lower-middle order has been extremely dependable in the past and was India’s strongest point, along with the ace up the sleeve – the spinners.
And here, the man makes his appearance again. Without Dhoni, the batting looks absolutely brittle all of a sudden if Dhawan and Kohli fail. Be it the act of early consolidation or late assault, Dhoni has been carrying out the role of Mr. Dependable with unnerving regularity and without any fuss.
It took a batsman, a wicketkeeper and a captain to fill in for MS Dhoni’s place in the side – India is missing Mr. Dependable
Mind you, this is not a team which has been dragged to victories by a single player. Contributions right at the top of the order from Dhawan down till the end by Ishant have contributed significantly in making India’s Champions Trophy successful. But they all have been glued together by Dhoni’s leadership. He didn’t contribute much with the bat in England, but Dhoni’s work from behind the stumps was akin to that of a master orchestrator; it was beautiful, and much reassuring for an Indian fan.
Dhoni-worshipping aside, it’s important to note that mere ‘experience-gaining exercise’ won’t do much good to the Indian team or its fans’ morale. The skipper himself had said at the start of this series, “if things are moving, it will only move in one direction which is up.” Clearly, the target was to do grow as a team.
But the failure to cope with conditions which aren’t best suited for free-flowing strokeplay isn’t growth. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and Dinesh Karthik would do their careers a world of good if they succeed here. If anything can be learnt from the data we have on hand via Messrs Gayle, Charles, Jayawardene and Tharanga, it is that once you get a start on these pitches, converting it into a big score is of paramount importance.