NEW DELHI: After two scratchy wins over minnows Ireland and the Netherlands, and their inability to force a win over England despite rustling up a total of 338, India's halo as World Cup favourites has dimmed considerably.
Fans are already suffering from frayed nerves, critics have kept their knives sheathed out and the media has brought down expectancy quotient by several notches.
The authority of a side boasting champion class is lacking. There are obvious weaknesses in some areas, especially fielding and bowling. Then, the logic behind team composition has also come under the scanner. Are India playing the best possible XI? Are they sure about their game plan? Is the strategy working?
Skipper MS Dhoni's answers to some vexed questions have not really silenced the skeptics. But what has added weight to growing disenchantment is the performance of the batsmen who made heavy weather of modest targets against Ireland and the Netherlands.
But is the situation really so bad that desperate measures need to be applied at once? Can't we believe Dhoni when he says his team would peak at the right moment in the World Cup? Well, Dhoni's positivism has not been matched by the show on the turf. But since every cloud has a silver lining, let's look out for some.
Coming to India's batting woes, very clearly the absence of a challenging environment caused a lowering of guard in recent games. That's why Sachin Tendulkar, of all batsmen, lost patience and committed hara-kiri against both Ireland and the Dutch. Virender Sehwag played like he does. But his recent ODI record suggests that he would have been just a bit more restrained if he was playing against one of the major teams.
There is a strong chance that we will see a slightly more responsible Sehwag against South Africa and West Indies. Gautam Gambhir has been a bit unlucky with his dismissals but can hope to ride on the law of averages now. Of course, Yuvraj Singh is proving to be the all-rounder India were always looking for. His confidence in the stratosphere, Yuvraj can be the engine to India's flight.
About Harbhajan Singh's lack of wickets, Dhoni had an interesting theory: "Teams are simply blocking him out, not wanting to give him wickets."
This is something Sourav Ganguly had also said on TV a few days back. This line of thinking has merit as teams do tend to be defensive against top bowlers. But Harbhajan will have to step up when bigger teams confront India. The good thing with the feisty sardar is that he loves a good scrap and may show his true colours when it's crunch time.
India also have R Ashwin up their sleeves. He has not been played despite a clamour for his inclusion in the XI. But, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise for India for his novelty value will be high as and when he is unleashed.
toi
Fans are already suffering from frayed nerves, critics have kept their knives sheathed out and the media has brought down expectancy quotient by several notches.
The authority of a side boasting champion class is lacking. There are obvious weaknesses in some areas, especially fielding and bowling. Then, the logic behind team composition has also come under the scanner. Are India playing the best possible XI? Are they sure about their game plan? Is the strategy working?
Skipper MS Dhoni's answers to some vexed questions have not really silenced the skeptics. But what has added weight to growing disenchantment is the performance of the batsmen who made heavy weather of modest targets against Ireland and the Netherlands.
But is the situation really so bad that desperate measures need to be applied at once? Can't we believe Dhoni when he says his team would peak at the right moment in the World Cup? Well, Dhoni's positivism has not been matched by the show on the turf. But since every cloud has a silver lining, let's look out for some.
Coming to India's batting woes, very clearly the absence of a challenging environment caused a lowering of guard in recent games. That's why Sachin Tendulkar, of all batsmen, lost patience and committed hara-kiri against both Ireland and the Dutch. Virender Sehwag played like he does. But his recent ODI record suggests that he would have been just a bit more restrained if he was playing against one of the major teams.
There is a strong chance that we will see a slightly more responsible Sehwag against South Africa and West Indies. Gautam Gambhir has been a bit unlucky with his dismissals but can hope to ride on the law of averages now. Of course, Yuvraj Singh is proving to be the all-rounder India were always looking for. His confidence in the stratosphere, Yuvraj can be the engine to India's flight.
About Harbhajan Singh's lack of wickets, Dhoni had an interesting theory: "Teams are simply blocking him out, not wanting to give him wickets."
This is something Sourav Ganguly had also said on TV a few days back. This line of thinking has merit as teams do tend to be defensive against top bowlers. But Harbhajan will have to step up when bigger teams confront India. The good thing with the feisty sardar is that he loves a good scrap and may show his true colours when it's crunch time.
India also have R Ashwin up their sleeves. He has not been played despite a clamour for his inclusion in the XI. But, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise for India for his novelty value will be high as and when he is unleashed.
toi
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