Pages

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

India's Dilemma!!!

Indian team has been touted as one of the best in the world cup and a lot of experts say they are one of the favorites to win the world cup. But India's performance in the first two matches has not been what the fans would have hoped for. Of course the win against Bangladesh was a big one in the first match, but it was not the perfect one.
There are flaws in Indian armoury and everyone can see it. The problem India facing is not a new one, they have had for a very long time. But it becomes only evident when they play matches in competitive tournament.
A draw against England, not a bad result but it showed India's weekness in team balance.
Indian batting has been great and it will keep doing great until they start tinkering with the batting order. Dhoni's decision to send Yuvraj at 4 dint work as well as he had hoped for. Ofcourse he can give his prime player some chance and match practice but at what cost? Virat Kohli at 4 could have a better choice.
The problem is, when Yuvi and MS got out, a lot depended on Yousuf Pathan to deliver the huge sixes in the last 2 overs. But you might say 338 was enough, but as Strauss showed, it was rather too close for comfort.
Dhoni should stop promoting Yuvi up the order. The batsmen at positions 1 to 4 are perfect at their respective positions. And its Dhoni Yousuf who must hit a few boundaries in the end and not Virat Kohli. Dhoni and Yuvraj coming up the order against England was the difference between India's 370 against Bangla and 338 against England.


The second problem is bowling. The selection is a huge problem here. Zaheer Khan is a regular and can be trusted completely. But other bowlers are causing big problems for Dhoni. The choice of second and third seamer is becoming more difficult. Nehra can become unfit at any point of the tournament and he is not built to play in long and gruelling cricket. Sreesanth can pick up wickets but he is a huge problem with his wayward line and character.
The second spinner option doesnt work all the time. If the main spinners go for runs, the part time bowlers, who are  also spinners can be expected to get hit for a few. The hole in the armour is the flat pitches. The pitches must be made to support spin bowling rather than becoming batsmen's paradise. Indian bowlers always struggle to maintain a decent line and length and struggle to pick up wickets.They always depend on some assistance from the pitch and if the pitches become too flat, it will be difficult for India to win matches.
The fielding, some might say is a problem, but really, they are doing what they have been doing and they have improved a lot. The fielding cannot be trusted but the batting must do a little bit more to provide cushion of 20 to 30 extra runs.
Whatever they need to sort out its best they do it now itself. Hopefully they sort out their problems and peak at the right moment for the knock out rounds.

No comments:

Post a Comment