It was nice to see Pakistan win its final game against Zimbabwe. The players did well to pull themselves together after the tragic demise of Bob Woolmer. His death was unfortunate to say the least.
Pakistan’s exit has prompted a lot of people to criticize the tournament format, but they ought to keep in mind the fact that what applied to Pakistan applied to the other fifteen teams as well. It is just that nobody expected Ireland and Bangladesh to stun two ex-World Cup winners.
The game against Sri Lanka is a ‘do or die’ affair for Rahul Dravid and his men. The best thing the Indians can do is approach the game in a positive frame of mind. The senior players have been in similar situations before and have played Sri Lanka several times.
I firmly believe that in cricket, you have to play for the future, not merely for the present. India’s policy of playing four specialist bowlers will only work in the short term. It is not as if they have four extraordinary bowlers who can dismiss the opposition cheaply on a regular basis. Considering the fact that they will be playing a formidable Sri Lankan batting line-up, it is important for the Indians to go in with five men who can take care of the allotted fifty overs.
The huge scores posted by India and Sri Lanka in the last few days indicate that the wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval have settled down after a wobbly start. Recent evidence gathered from across the world suggests that even a total of 300-plus isn’t ‘safe’, but a bowling side’s chances of defending it certainly increase if it does not have to rely on part-time bowlers.
I have always been of the view that the big guns should bat higher in the order. Don’t the senior members of a family represent it in problematic situations? The Indian team needs its senior batsmen to tackle the problems that will be posed by Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Fervez Maharoof in the initial overs. When a youngster opens the innings instead of a senior who has been fairly successful at the job, it is interpreted by the opponents as a sign of diffidence. Either Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag should begin proceedings with Saurav Ganguly.
This trend of holding back the senior players in the Pakistani and Indian sides has puzzled me. It is in direct contrast to the approach of the Australians. Every member of that side seems to want to open the innings. There are quite a few reasons why the Australians are where they are, and this is one of them.
Rigidity is a cricket team’s biggest enemy. No Indian or Pakistani would have forgotten the 1996 World Cup Quarterfinal at Bangalore. I should have been sent in at No. 3 or no.4 in that game, given my experience and record in such games. But I wasn’t, and our cause wasn’t helped by the captain, who should have looked to bat out the full fifty overs, but didn’t. A cricket team should ideally exercise flexibility after its leading lights have taken their positions at the top of the batting order. What India did against Bermuda is a case in point. Uthappa’s failure meant that Sehwag for all practical purposes opened with Ganguly. Dhoni then went in at a crucial stage, and began the fireworks that were continued by those who followed him.
However, the fact remains that most of India’s batting stars aren’t batting the way they used to a few years ago. Take Ganguly for instance. He has got runs, but his methods have changed. I remember him coming down the wicket and hitting the faster and slower bowlers over the infield almost at will. That isn’t happening anymore. The Sri Lankans will come hard at them. Mahela Jayawardene’s team is capable of going all the way with its brilliant batting, seasoned bowling and breathtaking fielding.
Dravid and his players have their task cut out against a Sri Lankan ‘team’ that is playing like one. But India will be in the driver’s seat if Tendulkar or Sehwag get going.
