Yet another Batting Collapse
Another golden opportunity lost due to an inept batting display. This would be the story of India's loss yesterday. Ofcourse this was what many would have expected from the young batting line. However what nobody expected was the bowling to be so good and the Australian batting to be so fragile. Reducing Australia to modest totals in two consecutive games is no mean feat, and all credit to the Indian bowlers.
The batsman should really be kicking themselves for missing out yesterday. All they had to do was apply themselves and a couple of good partnerships would have taken them home. But alas they seemed to be in a hurry to catch a flight and gifted the Australians easy wickets. Yuvraj finally seemed to be able to hit the ball with the bat and he got himself into the perfect position for redeeming himself. But then he played a horrendous shot when all that was needed was singles and then Dhoni's unfortunate run-out triggered a lower-order collapse. The lower didnt think the bonus point was needed either and they perished to mindless swings.
Dhoni's comments after the game really infuriated me. I have always felt he spoke with a level head and common sense, but of late he has been making comments which have been out of order. It seems as though he will back certain players come what may. Anybody who knows a little bit of cricket can tell Yuvraj is struggling on the field. He is more like a statue at mid-off who picks up the ball when it comes to him. He is not bowling in the nets but Dhoni wants to use him as a bowler in the matches at crucial times. His 4th over yesterday cost 12 runs which started a period of good scoring from the Australians who were struggling until then. Then while batting he plays himself in (which was rare) and then gets out to a stupid shot which Dhoni defends saying "the shot was on, but was executed poorly". It is high time Yuvraj sorts out his fitness issues and shows more commitment and desire on the field. Gavaskar has flayed Munaf for his poor display on the field but Yuvraj was no better.
Dhoni's comments on Rohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan were even worse. He blamed Rohit squarely for his run-out when the young kid dived and tried his best to beat the bullet throw from Hayden. The run-out was a result of excellent fielding from Hayden rather than poor running. Blaming young Rohit for that is totally unjustified.
It is acceptable that he defends his decisions on the field but to say "Sending Irfan up balances the batting order and keep it stable. And Irfan at 8 or 3 doesn't make too much of a difference." What message does that send out to a young all-rounder in the making? And I really believe Irfan at No.7 would be much more valuable than at No.3 when the ball is new and moving a little bit.
Robin Uthappa is another player Dhoni backs to the hilt, and he might be talented too but he shows no common sense and the way he got out yesterday was pathetic. It was his responsibility as a specialist batsman to get the tail to support him and take as much strike as possible. The tail always plays well when they have a batsman at the other side who is willing to guide them. He will need to show a better temperament to go with his talent in order to succeed in the long run.
It is not from the loss but the way a team loses that the character of a team can be seen. This Indian team needs to show a better character to become a successful unit.
The batsman should really be kicking themselves for missing out yesterday. All they had to do was apply themselves and a couple of good partnerships would have taken them home. But alas they seemed to be in a hurry to catch a flight and gifted the Australians easy wickets. Yuvraj finally seemed to be able to hit the ball with the bat and he got himself into the perfect position for redeeming himself. But then he played a horrendous shot when all that was needed was singles and then Dhoni's unfortunate run-out triggered a lower-order collapse. The lower didnt think the bonus point was needed either and they perished to mindless swings.
Dhoni's comments after the game really infuriated me. I have always felt he spoke with a level head and common sense, but of late he has been making comments which have been out of order. It seems as though he will back certain players come what may. Anybody who knows a little bit of cricket can tell Yuvraj is struggling on the field. He is more like a statue at mid-off who picks up the ball when it comes to him. He is not bowling in the nets but Dhoni wants to use him as a bowler in the matches at crucial times. His 4th over yesterday cost 12 runs which started a period of good scoring from the Australians who were struggling until then. Then while batting he plays himself in (which was rare) and then gets out to a stupid shot which Dhoni defends saying "the shot was on, but was executed poorly". It is high time Yuvraj sorts out his fitness issues and shows more commitment and desire on the field. Gavaskar has flayed Munaf for his poor display on the field but Yuvraj was no better.
Dhoni's comments on Rohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan were even worse. He blamed Rohit squarely for his run-out when the young kid dived and tried his best to beat the bullet throw from Hayden. The run-out was a result of excellent fielding from Hayden rather than poor running. Blaming young Rohit for that is totally unjustified.
It is acceptable that he defends his decisions on the field but to say "Sending Irfan up balances the batting order and keep it stable. And Irfan at 8 or 3 doesn't make too much of a difference." What message does that send out to a young all-rounder in the making? And I really believe Irfan at No.7 would be much more valuable than at No.3 when the ball is new and moving a little bit.
Robin Uthappa is another player Dhoni backs to the hilt, and he might be talented too but he shows no common sense and the way he got out yesterday was pathetic. It was his responsibility as a specialist batsman to get the tail to support him and take as much strike as possible. The tail always plays well when they have a batsman at the other side who is willing to guide them. He will need to show a better temperament to go with his talent in order to succeed in the long run.
It is not from the loss but the way a team loses that the character of a team can be seen. This Indian team needs to show a better character to become a successful unit.
posted by Raj at 6:40 pm
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