MIRPUR: It was India's shoddy fielding, rather than S Sreesanth's wayward bowling in their opening World Cup match against Bangladesh that is a major concern for the team management.
It is not uncommon for a bowler to take a pounding in the odd match in limited-overs cricket. Even by his inconsistent standards, Sreesanth had a nightmare outing on Saturday. Having given away 53 runs in his first five overs, Bangladesh may have even won the game had not India skipper MS Dhoni taken him off the firing line for good.
Fortunately, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel did the job for India along with senior pro Zaheer Khan, who improved significantly after an ordinary first spell. True, they had the luxury of a 370-run cushion, but at least the bowlers did the job.
The same cannot be said about Indian fielders. There were far too many fumbles in the outfield early in Bangladesh's run chase to give them the benefit of the 'dew'.
Youthful Bangladesh batsmen not only stole singles, but also converted ones into twos as India's ageing warriors struggled to keep pace with them.
Let's not forget that Suresh Raina substituted for a tired/injured Virender Sehwag when India took the field. Raina, who was left out of the playing XI against Bangladesh on Saturday, remains India's best fielder with an uncanny ability to hit the stumps from any position inside the 30-yard circle.
Ironically, Yusuf Pathan, who has usurped Raina's place in the XI, had a poor outing, allround — failing with the bat and ball and generally struggling in the field where he grassed two chances.
He is batting too low down the order to contribute substantially with the bat and as a bowler he lacks the guile of Yuvraj. He is best suited as a shock weapon against big teams in a counter-attacking role.
Bangladesh, in contrast, fielded quite brilliantly. In spite of Sehwag's lethal strokeplay, the Bangladesh fielding didn't wilt even towards the end. It was largely because of the Tigers' superb athleticism that prevented India from posting a 400-plus total.
No wonder Dhoni, who himself was not at his best behind the stumps, expressed concern about his team's poor fielding.
"We need to improve (in the fielding department). We need to save at least 10 runs on the field (in every game)," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
Let alone saving runs on the field, with not more than four good fielders in their 15-member squad, India are easily one of the worst fielding sides in the ongoing World Cup.
Coach Gary Kirsten can do little about it at this juncture but pray that the Indian team would at least hold on to the catches that come their way to give the bowlers a leg up.
The big positive from the opening game was the early form displayed by the top-order and the maturity by young Virat Kohli. Not once during their 145-ball third-wicket stand of 203 runs did Sehwag and Kohli indulge in slogging.
The effortless ease with which they kept finding the boundaries meant the duo didn't even need to give Bangladesh bowlers the charge in the death overs.
It is the depth and quality of India's batting line-up that makes Dhoni's boys the favourites to win the World Cup.
All the big guns need not boom together.
India just need a couple of batsmen to come good in every match to put the issue beyond doubt — with or without some help from their bowlers and fielders.
TOI
It is not uncommon for a bowler to take a pounding in the odd match in limited-overs cricket. Even by his inconsistent standards, Sreesanth had a nightmare outing on Saturday. Having given away 53 runs in his first five overs, Bangladesh may have even won the game had not India skipper MS Dhoni taken him off the firing line for good.
Fortunately, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel did the job for India along with senior pro Zaheer Khan, who improved significantly after an ordinary first spell. True, they had the luxury of a 370-run cushion, but at least the bowlers did the job.
The same cannot be said about Indian fielders. There were far too many fumbles in the outfield early in Bangladesh's run chase to give them the benefit of the 'dew'.
Youthful Bangladesh batsmen not only stole singles, but also converted ones into twos as India's ageing warriors struggled to keep pace with them.
Let's not forget that Suresh Raina substituted for a tired/injured Virender Sehwag when India took the field. Raina, who was left out of the playing XI against Bangladesh on Saturday, remains India's best fielder with an uncanny ability to hit the stumps from any position inside the 30-yard circle.
Ironically, Yusuf Pathan, who has usurped Raina's place in the XI, had a poor outing, allround — failing with the bat and ball and generally struggling in the field where he grassed two chances.
He is batting too low down the order to contribute substantially with the bat and as a bowler he lacks the guile of Yuvraj. He is best suited as a shock weapon against big teams in a counter-attacking role.
Bangladesh, in contrast, fielded quite brilliantly. In spite of Sehwag's lethal strokeplay, the Bangladesh fielding didn't wilt even towards the end. It was largely because of the Tigers' superb athleticism that prevented India from posting a 400-plus total.
No wonder Dhoni, who himself was not at his best behind the stumps, expressed concern about his team's poor fielding.
"We need to improve (in the fielding department). We need to save at least 10 runs on the field (in every game)," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
Let alone saving runs on the field, with not more than four good fielders in their 15-member squad, India are easily one of the worst fielding sides in the ongoing World Cup.
Coach Gary Kirsten can do little about it at this juncture but pray that the Indian team would at least hold on to the catches that come their way to give the bowlers a leg up.
The big positive from the opening game was the early form displayed by the top-order and the maturity by young Virat Kohli. Not once during their 145-ball third-wicket stand of 203 runs did Sehwag and Kohli indulge in slogging.
The effortless ease with which they kept finding the boundaries meant the duo didn't even need to give Bangladesh bowlers the charge in the death overs.
It is the depth and quality of India's batting line-up that makes Dhoni's boys the favourites to win the World Cup.
All the big guns need not boom together.
India just need a couple of batsmen to come good in every match to put the issue beyond doubt — with or without some help from their bowlers and fielders.
TOI
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