India’s batsmen let the team down again as they failed to chase a simple target of 213 that Australia had set them. The Indian bowlers had done a top job in restricting the Australians to such a small total though it has to be said that the Australian running between the wickets was bordering on the suicidal.
The Australians also rested some key players like Michael Clarke and Shane Watson and that did weaken the batting somewhat and also made the bowling options a bit less for Ponting. Their absence also did not help the Australian fielding and still Australia ended up winning and that does tell how well they applied the pressure on the Indians.
This Indian batting is not an inexperienced one so there was no reason for any panic nor was the wicket a difficult one to bat on but the Indians made it look as if they were chasing the highest score in one-day cricket. What was evident was that even the Australians were nervous as could be seen by the wides that the usually accurate McGrath bowled and that’s an area that the Australians will be looking to improve for the wides and no-balls when defending a small total, can be the telling difference between winning and losing.
Luckily the Indian batting did not take advantage of the Australian nervousness and by allowing part time bowler like Symonds to bowl his quota without conceding too many shows that the Indians did not plan their chase properly.
It’s easy enough to knock the Indian team after their defeat but it won’t serve any purpose since the squad for the Champions Trophy has already been chosen but fact is that too many in the team are now in the side on past performances and not current form and while the saying, “form is temporary and class is permanent” is true, it’s true mainly of Test matches and not necessarily for one-dayers where form is of paramount importance for the limited overs game is one of confidence and that confidence comes from current form.
The bowlers had done wonderfully well in seeing that the Australians were kept quiet and with Raina taking an acrobatic catch to get rid of Katich and then when Australia’s blue-eyed boy Martyn got Hayden run-out, India had the opportunity to really put pressure. Harbhajan bowled splendidly once again and was supported by the seamers Agarkar and Munaf. The seventh wicket pair of Haddin and Brad Hogg put on a match-winning partnership that gave some substance to the total. India missed a fifth bowler as they had decided to play an extra batsman. It is here that India has paid the price for playing around with the confidence of a talent like Pathan who can not only bowl but also bat more than usefully.
Mongia batted sensibly for the most part but showed no inclination whatsoever to try and farm the strike once Dhoni was out and thus exposed the tail to the Australian bowlers. In a way it was understandable as he was making a comeback to the team but once he had got 30 then he should have known that it was good enough for at least another half a dozen chances in the future going strictly by past experience of course and so should have taken the initiative to try and win the game on his own. That did not happen and the reason is not hard to find. It’s every man for himself and if India fails it’s no big deal as long as you get to be in the team.
