A few months back, I was driving to office and my car stopped at the signal. It stopped and it refused to start. The battery was dead. There had been a few warning signs. A couple of times earlier the car struggled to start but I ignored it and promptly forgot to even get it checked.
On the surface, the car was running perfectly and I thought, it was just another mechanical quirk, shoved it under the carpet and got on with life. As a result, I was stranded at the signal, cursing the car and myself. If only I had paid heed to those warnings…
So far, India have enjoyed a World Cup that few of their supporters would have imagined or scarcely even thought possible. The team has functioned like a perfectly tuned machine. They beat Pakistan and South Africa with a fair degree of ease. Their batting was starting to click, the bowlers had found their range and not a single catch was dropped.
India had a few nervy moments against West Indies. AFP
It was precisely the kind of start that lulls a team into complacency; makes them overconfident – the game just seems that little bit easier. And sometimes, you just need a periodic check to assure yourself that everything is alright; to remind you that things can go very wrong if you ease up at the wrong time. The game against West Indies was exactly that check, that wake-up call.
By the time the match ended, there was tension in the air, we weren’t quite sure who would win and that is precisely the kind of scenario in which teams continue to get better; that is how India will get good enough to beat Australia.
Rohit Sharma needs to find some form. AP
It started off well for India. Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav found a good line and length. More importantly, they stuck to it. Mohit Sharma came in and worked up a good bouncer. India were not out to prove that they can bowl bouncers. They were well-directed and they were planned.
By the time the 25th over began, West Indies were tottering at 85-7 but then a bit of the old India resurfaced – they allowed the tail to wag. It seemed like the Tests all over again. From 85-7 to 182 all out. It was still not a threatening total but it gave West Indies a fighting chance. India took their foot off the pedal and that was their first mistake.
The other errors came in the fielding. So far, India’s fielding has been electric. They snapped up all the chances that came their way but on Friday, they dropped four catches. Dhoni, rightly, wasn’t too worried but it would put all the fielders on alert and that is what the team needs.
When India came out to bat – one of their first tasks would have been to get the opening partnership going. Shikhar Dhawan has been among the runs but Rohit Sharma’s run (scores of 15, 0, 57, 7) in the World Cup has been poor. But both openers were back in the hut by the time the scoreboard hit 20. Both Australia and New Zealand have vastly superior attacks and this will be an area that will worry Dhoni and Co a bit.
Next up, was the short ball barrage. If the opposition can consistently target the rib cage then India’s mix of happy and reluctant hookers is in trouble. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane are more than happy to play the shot on every occasion. Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina show bravado by playing the hook shot but their technique still isn’t up there. West Indies adopted the tactic and cracks in India’s batting showed once again.
Finally, Jadeja’s form with the bat leaves much to be desired. As Tariq Engineer details in his piece, it took Dhoni to calmly take things to the desired end. India’s batsmen still need to read the situation better and with the two new balls, it probably makes sense to ensure that fewer wickets are lost early on.
As things stand, India are making it through because the combination is working – when one batsman fails, another steps up; the bowlers are hunting as a pack too.
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“I think what we have said is what we want is partnership in batting and in bowling. We are not emphasizing too much on individual performance. What we are looking for is how the two individuals when they are bowling or batting, what kind of partnership they are creating, so the whole essence of the team is how to win games,” said Dhoni.
“Definitely he (Shami) has bowled well, along with other bowlers, because if you're leaking runs from one end, it's difficult to get wickets and contain batsmen from the other end. That's something that was happening quite regular when it came to our bowling outside the subcontinent, but what the bowlers are doing really well right now is they are hunting in packs,” he further added.
And since we are talking about packs, it is perhaps apt to quote Kipling:
“As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”
If nothing else, the game against the West Indies would have reminded them of their strengths and their frailties and at the moment, that is exactly what they needed.
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