A DEBACLE OR A BLESSING IN DISGUISE ???
14TH August, 2009, it was a Sunday and I was all set for the India versus England super eight match which was a do a die match for the defending champions, India. Having lost the first match of the super eight stage to West Indies, India had to win this match at any cost as 2 wins of the allotted 3 would qualify a team for the semi-finals. This is WORLD T20 CUP, 2009. defending the cup would have added one of the most shining medals on their uniforms in Indian Cricket.
The 20-20 stage was set. The early shocker for the team was the defeat in the warm up match against New Zealand. The champions wouldn’t tame the kiwis and were once again thrown into the jaws of defeat. New Zealand never lost to India in the 20-20 format till now and the records were maintained still. The next major encounter was with the arch rivals, Pakistan. India was not only playing for pride but also another distinctive record in which India never lost to Pakistan in the world cup history. The most gentle Younus Khan did know the importance of winning this match, as according to him cricket was the only string left to unite people within the country as well as with neighbours. This was a warm up match but the intensity was no less than a final. The Indian victory in this match sealed that the record still remains unchanged. Rohit Sharma was sent up to open with Gautam Gambhir. Supposedly, Sehwag was down with some shoulder injury and was advised to rest so that he could recover before the group matches start. Sharma played like a champion. An elegant aggressive batsman is always a merry to watch. He slaughtered the bowling with merciless finesse. There was probably no ground for error when bowling to him and I am sure coaches around the world started looking for loopholes in his batting. Newspapers carried the headline that “Sehwag’s absence was not missed by India”. Who ever watched those innings were surely mesmerized by the talent that this young man showed.
Dhoni promoted himself at first down and this did bring in an element of surprise for most cricket followers as Suresh Raina was doing a great job in the recently held Indian Premier League, 2009. Australian great Matthew Hayden did mention in one of his columns that Raina should be groomed to 1 down for potential run scoring as he did in the IPL. Dhoni this move wasn’t fruitful as Dhoni himself failed to show the big games that he is said to be capable off in spite of the fact that he did get a couple of starts. Raina too didn’t give the opposition captain much to think about. I wonder what was Dhoni trying to do. Was he trying to lead the brigade from the front or was he protecting Raina from the new ball bowlers ??? Dhoni is a smart thinker and there surely would have been more to this move than what naked eyes can see. Raina is a guy who can take away any bowler on his day. Yuvraj was his golden self. He is still a terror in this format of the game and he surely did show why.
However, India lost the match and came the speculation about the captains wrong decisions. Not sending Yuvraj at 2 down was something which was his fault, he got to admit this. A batsman is a specialized skill for a certain position and the masters of the game have played the best at their own position. Flexibility in the batting order is a good option but it’s the delivery of the act that counts. He didn’t use RP Singh who conceded just 13 runs off the 3 that he bowled. Question marks were raised when Harbhajan was brought in for the ultimate over of the innings. Now this I will consider as another unlucky thing that Bhajji misfired. What if Bhajji did fire ??? I was not part of this debate as I though it was not necessary. There were glimpses of Dhoni missing stumping opportunities and field placement errors.
Ultimately majority of the blame was shifted towards the captain, an usual occasion for the losing sub-continent captain. I think this defeat was very important in Dhoni’s ladder of success. Every captain learns from experiences, this has been the law of the game from the time it originated. Innovations and climbing one step at once is what is important. If you miss the steps, you miss the way.
The concern in the recovery of Virender Sehwag as a 20-20 opener. In one dayers the master blaster is unmovable. Gambhir is improving with each season. Sehwag is a fear for most teams. Rohit Sharma has already been considered and one of the most stylish sum aggressive batsman. Yuvraj can be the one man army. Raina, Jadeja, Pathans, Karthik, Zaheer, Bhajji, RP, Ishant and the rest of the bench strength. India can be tough, tough for any team to beat.
I really don’t agree with blaming the captain under whom the team lost a world cup, especially not when the same captain who led the team to the previous and the first ever T20 world cup crown. We need to give him some time, he is young and yet has some of the wittiest tricks up his sleeve. Even the great Steve Waugh agrees.
The grass is always greener on the other side. Maybe this defeat is the building of a better developed captain and also of many more victories stamped by the Indian Cricket Team in any format of the game, anywhere in world, anytime of the year !!!
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