What a thriller! But also what a mess up by the Indians of what was a simple target with an asking rate of less than 4 runs an over. India have only themselves to blame for fiddling with the batting order for a small target like the one the West Indies had set them. What sense did it make sending Irfan Pathan up the order when the asking rate was not much? Yes it can be understood when the target is a big one and there’s need to throw the opposition off by some unorthodox batting but when chasing a none too big total the batting order should not be tampered with. India is blessed that they have in Pathan and Dhoni players capable of giving that flexibility and extra options to the batting but those options if used regularly like its being done with Pathan’s promotion are coming unstuck simply because Pathan still does not have enough faith in himself as a batsman and thinks he is a bowler first and foremost. There’s a big difference in the temperament of a bowler and that of a batsman when they are at the crease and Pathan’s problems start when he is expected to bat like a batsman as in this game where all that was needed was a sensible approach and not the hit and miss one. By denying regular batsmen their rightful place in the batting order there could well be a crisis of confidence as the younger ones get confused as to what exactly their role is and how they should be approaching their batting.

When a team is chasing a small total there’s no worry even if there are a few dot balls as the asking rate can be caught up with wickets in hand. India having lost the two openers early should have let the regular batsmen come in and get set and play themselves in, for such opportunities to do so are not there when chasing 250 plus totals. So a Kaif trying to get his form back should have come in at three so that he could have had the luxury of playing himself in as also Raina who had not batted much in the first one-dayer. If flexibility is the buzzword then where is that flexibility if Pathan keeps coming in ahead of the regular batsmen regularly? Sehwag’s form continues to be a concern simply because of the manner of his dismissals. If he was getting out to some unplayable balls from the bowlers then it can be understood as one of those lean patches but when he is not willing to play himself in then it’s more an attitude and temperament problem and it’s here that the think tank has to look at. After one scratchy knock which almost cost the first one-dayer Kaif has been given a berth in the World Cup squad already with the comments attributed to the coach which means that he can fail in all the one-dayers India will be playing till next March and still be on the plane to the West Indies again. His was a forgettable dismissal but then he knows that he can play any which way and still will be in the side. No praise can be too high of the manner in which Pathan and Agarkar tied up the top order of the West Indies and ensured that the islanders never got too comfortable. Agarkar got the century maker of the first one-dayer Gayle out to a beautifully angled delivery and Pathan mixing his deliveries cunningly had Morton looking like a schoolboy playing swing bowling for the first time. The great man Lara, lucky to escape off Agarkar, found that his counterpart has hands that are as safe as the Reserve Bank. Sarwan who was obviously wearing some lucky charm as he escaped being run-out three times made sure that his team had a reasonable chance with a well-compiled innings though his luck did not get him a century.

Still if he was an Indian and had started off with only 9 runs in 48 balls he would have been booed off the planet.

That in limited-overs cricket too there’s place for a measured innings and not just bang bang type was evident from the way his innings gave his bowlers a fighting chance which they gratefully accepted.

Maybe India should be thinking similarly to ensure they don’t lose matches they should be winning with ease.