Regarding yesterday's match between India and West Indies, Cricinfo rightly said that India somehow managed to win a match that neither team was interested in winning.
The match was no doubt a thriller, but a thriller that could have and should have been avoided by India. Needing only 212 runs to win a match at home, India won in the penultimate over and that too with only 1 wicket to spare. If you saw the match, you would know that at several stages during the chase, it looked as if India would end up losing the match.
The bowlers did a good job in restricting the WI side to only 211 runs. Even though the opposition was a West Indian side, it takes a commendable effort from the bowlers to restrict the opposition to such low scores on the subcontinent pitches. Given the fact that the Indian bowling attack in yesterday's match was very inexperienced, they really did a good job.
The chase started well with Sehwag and Patel going all guns blazing. But once Russel had Patel & Gambhir out in the same over, the trouble started for India. Both the batsmen were caught trying to cut a short and wide delivery. Both the shots were very careless and you expect any top order batsmen to avoid such shots. Patel gets limited opportunities at international level because of the presence of Dhoni. And he blows away most of these opportunities by playing careless cricket. Not that it would matter because even if Patel plays well, its hard to find a place for him in the side. He is not that good a batsman to be in the team purely for his batting. And as a wicket-keeper batsmen Dhoni is better. But Gambhir is one of India's best batsmen in the ODI format. His careless shot was really uncalled for. Considering the Australian tour coming up after this series, it would be best for all the Indian batsmen to find good form before they leave down under.
Sehwag also looked edgy yesterday. I have never seen Sehwag complaining about anything while he is batting. He doesn't bother about field placements, about the sight screens and other nuances. He does what he does best; hits the ball and scores boundaries. However, yesterday he was constantly bothered about the movements behind the sight screen. He was acting much like his 'guru' Sachin Tendulkar. I agree that movements behind the screen are really irritating for the players. But seeing Sehwag yesterday was really very surprising. I am sure it affected his concentration as he was stopping before every ball and waiting for the people to move.
One good thing that came out in yesterday's match was Rohit Sharma's performance. The guy has a lot of talent but somehow has always refused to perform. His patience and cool head yesterday helped India win the match. It helped his long term prospects in the Indian team even better. However, we must not forget that this innings came against a West Indian side that did not have any world class bowlers. The bowlers also lacked experience. He was also playing on a subcontinent track which was not very troublesome for the batsmen. He needs to continue such performances against better quality oppositions and in tougher conditions.
A mention here for Ravindra Jadeja. He supported Sharma very well though fell well short of the target.
Overall both the teams played mediocre cricket. Its just that India were better at mediocrity than WI and they won. India needs to take the up coming matches seriously as practice for down under. If they can't beat WI at home convincingly, then their chances of beating Australia in Australia are really slim.
The match was no doubt a thriller, but a thriller that could have and should have been avoided by India. Needing only 212 runs to win a match at home, India won in the penultimate over and that too with only 1 wicket to spare. If you saw the match, you would know that at several stages during the chase, it looked as if India would end up losing the match.
The bowlers did a good job in restricting the WI side to only 211 runs. Even though the opposition was a West Indian side, it takes a commendable effort from the bowlers to restrict the opposition to such low scores on the subcontinent pitches. Given the fact that the Indian bowling attack in yesterday's match was very inexperienced, they really did a good job.
The chase started well with Sehwag and Patel going all guns blazing. But once Russel had Patel & Gambhir out in the same over, the trouble started for India. Both the batsmen were caught trying to cut a short and wide delivery. Both the shots were very careless and you expect any top order batsmen to avoid such shots. Patel gets limited opportunities at international level because of the presence of Dhoni. And he blows away most of these opportunities by playing careless cricket. Not that it would matter because even if Patel plays well, its hard to find a place for him in the side. He is not that good a batsman to be in the team purely for his batting. And as a wicket-keeper batsmen Dhoni is better. But Gambhir is one of India's best batsmen in the ODI format. His careless shot was really uncalled for. Considering the Australian tour coming up after this series, it would be best for all the Indian batsmen to find good form before they leave down under.
Sehwag also looked edgy yesterday. I have never seen Sehwag complaining about anything while he is batting. He doesn't bother about field placements, about the sight screens and other nuances. He does what he does best; hits the ball and scores boundaries. However, yesterday he was constantly bothered about the movements behind the sight screen. He was acting much like his 'guru' Sachin Tendulkar. I agree that movements behind the screen are really irritating for the players. But seeing Sehwag yesterday was really very surprising. I am sure it affected his concentration as he was stopping before every ball and waiting for the people to move.
One good thing that came out in yesterday's match was Rohit Sharma's performance. The guy has a lot of talent but somehow has always refused to perform. His patience and cool head yesterday helped India win the match. It helped his long term prospects in the Indian team even better. However, we must not forget that this innings came against a West Indian side that did not have any world class bowlers. The bowlers also lacked experience. He was also playing on a subcontinent track which was not very troublesome for the batsmen. He needs to continue such performances against better quality oppositions and in tougher conditions.
A mention here for Ravindra Jadeja. He supported Sharma very well though fell well short of the target.
Overall both the teams played mediocre cricket. Its just that India were better at mediocrity than WI and they won. India needs to take the up coming matches seriously as practice for down under. If they can't beat WI at home convincingly, then their chances of beating Australia in Australia are really slim.
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