India’s dream of winning the Champions Trophy in front of their adoring home crowds was ground to the dust by a clinical performance by Australia. The world champions Australia have never won the trophy and seeing the way they are getting their act together after the loss to West Indies does suggest that their objective of putting the one trophy not in the cabinet of cricket Australia is going to be fulfilled this Sunday.
It is easy to be critical of the Indian team especially after they have lost and while there is no doubt that more than a few questions will be asked about the combination fielded for this all important clash against the Aussies, perhaps it’s also time to give them a respite from the barrage of criticism and wish them more determination in the encounters to follow. The team will be a lot free in South Africa, though not entirely away from the eyes and ears of the media, but the intensity of expectations will definitely be lesser than in India.
Obviously the Indian team had decided to bat first after winning the toss and that’s certainly what their eleven indicated. By packing the team with batsmen they showed that they were looking to put pressure on the Aussies by sheer weight of runs but that didn’t happen, as Tendulkar failed and that invariably puts pressure on the others that follow.
That’s why it’s so important that the captain comes in at No. 3 not only to give solidity to the innings but also give a batsman like Sehwag the confidence that there is a solid anchorman at one end so he can play in the manner that destroys the opposition bowling. Unless it’s a superstition it’s hard to see why Dravid does not bat No. 3 and yes he used to bat lower whenever Laxman and Ganguly have batted at No. 3 but to compare these two with Mongia, Raina and Kaif is to live in a dream world. Quite simply the best batsman in the team bats at No. 3 because he has the technique to cope with the moving ball as well as attack the spinning delivery. Dravid did get a half century and Sehwag too got his but apart from that there was hardly any contribution till Dhoni came and used some common sense to keep the score moving and give India a respectable total.
Australia too have been trying a different opening combination and that gave them the perfect start. Sreesanth got Gilchrist to a wide long hope and showed that he has the happy knack of picking wickets with bad balls and so when he bowls a good one then he can get wickets too, as he did with the Australian skipper Ponting.
That was too late as Martyn ensured that there were no alarms and took the team to the semis where they will meet their neighbors from across the Tasman sea.
The turn that Harbhajan got showed that India could have done with another spinner in their ranks but that was left to Sehwag and Mongia and much as their efforts are to be appreciated they are at best part time bowlers.
India are out of the tournament but hopefully the selectors and the BCCI will now force them to play in the Duleep Trophy for there is no way this team can claim they are burnt out certainly not after the big gaps they have had in the Champions Trophy. That may have been one of the factors for them not maintaining any rhythm so let a gap not be a reason for the South African tour.
