In a way, it was good that team Ireland gave India a bit of a game at Hamilton in their penultimate league encounter in the ICC World Cup 2015. Even though the spirited Irish have had a good run in the tournament so far, beating fancied West Indies and Zimbabwe, no one had given them a chance when they met with a reinvigorated India, playing their first World Cup game in New Zealand. As expected, the title holders beat the Irish effortlessly by eight wickets and 79 balls to spare to confirm their position as leaders in Pool B.
Fortunately, India decided not to experiment against a weaker team. They could have rested Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, but they stuck to their six-batsmen five-bowlers gameplan to forge ahead in the tournament. The team combination seems to be working for skipper MS Dhoni, who once again showed why he is one of the best leaders in the shorter format of the game.
Astute captaincy
When Dhoni’s strike force, Yadav and Shami, was blasted by the Irish openers, thanks to the shorter length that they bowled, he slowed down the game and reaped quick results. Shami quickly realised that his length, which worked in Australia, where he had played the first four games, needed to be altered. In his next spell he bowled fuller and ended up with three wickets at a decent economy rate of 4.55 per over.
The juggling of the bowling attack by Dhoni – getting in Suresh Raina to bowl when Ravindra Jadeja was ineffective and reposing faith in Ravichandran Ashwin did make things tougher for the Irish batsmen who had nothing to lose going into this game. Raina was successful, getting the prized wicket of Ed Joyce, and must have gained a lot of confidence going into the next games of the tournament.
But is a plateau looming ahead?
With nine consecutive World Cup victories and bowling out the opposition in five games, the worry that Indian fans may have is – have India peaked too early? Has the great Indian batting juggernaut already reached its optimum performance? Will the bowlers plateau after a disciplined show against some of the best teams in the world?
A team can always come back in this tournament after a loss in the league phase of the game. We saw that with Imran Khan’s Pakistan outfit in 1992 and are seeing Misbah ul Haq’s lot in the present tournament. It would take just one bad day even for an in-form team to exit the tournament. One bad session and poof go the hopes.
Flaws that need fixing
Though India look settled and are front-line contenders for the title, there are a few flaws that do need to be ironed out before they meet Bangladesh (if things go as predicted) in the quarter-final back in Australia.
For starters, the weakest link in the bowling department so far has been the form of Ravindra Jadeja who has not looked confident while bowling his quota. More often than not, he has been leaking runs when the other bowlers have kept the batsmen under pressure.
While it is a bit too late to replace him as it may upset the team rhythm – and we have seen how important it is to have a balanced spin attack – it is imperative that the team management, particularly team Director Ravi Shastri, have a chat with the young man. Shastri is a great motivator and can instill a lot of confidence in the fellow left-arm spinner.
The team management also needs to take a closer look at the batting middle-order. Skipper Dhoni found form against the West Indies but the issue lies at the crucial number five position that is occupied by Suresh Raina. His discomfiture against the short ball is known to all teams that play cricket (international and domestic).
After a belligerent knock against Pakistan, Raina looked out of sorts against South Africa and the West Indies and we all know that he can be an explosive batsman when in full flow. The team management could do well to give the south-paw an outing against Zimbabwe and hope he takes full advantage of the same. Or else, Skipper Dhoni will need to move one notch up the batting order.
Fortunately, India decided not to experiment against a weaker team. They could have rested Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, but they stuck to their six-batsmen five-bowlers gameplan to forge ahead in the tournament. The team combination seems to be working for skipper MS Dhoni, who once again showed why he is one of the best leaders in the shorter format of the game.
Astute captaincy
When Dhoni’s strike force, Yadav and Shami, was blasted by the Irish openers, thanks to the shorter length that they bowled, he slowed down the game and reaped quick results. Shami quickly realised that his length, which worked in Australia, where he had played the first four games, needed to be altered. In his next spell he bowled fuller and ended up with three wickets at a decent economy rate of 4.55 per over.
The juggling of the bowling attack by Dhoni – getting in Suresh Raina to bowl when Ravindra Jadeja was ineffective and reposing faith in Ravichandran Ashwin did make things tougher for the Irish batsmen who had nothing to lose going into this game. Raina was successful, getting the prized wicket of Ed Joyce, and must have gained a lot of confidence going into the next games of the tournament.
But is a plateau looming ahead?
With nine consecutive World Cup victories and bowling out the opposition in five games, the worry that Indian fans may have is – have India peaked too early? Has the great Indian batting juggernaut already reached its optimum performance? Will the bowlers plateau after a disciplined show against some of the best teams in the world?
A team can always come back in this tournament after a loss in the league phase of the game. We saw that with Imran Khan’s Pakistan outfit in 1992 and are seeing Misbah ul Haq’s lot in the present tournament. It would take just one bad day even for an in-form team to exit the tournament. One bad session and poof go the hopes.
Flaws that need fixing
Though India look settled and are front-line contenders for the title, there are a few flaws that do need to be ironed out before they meet Bangladesh (if things go as predicted) in the quarter-final back in Australia.
For starters, the weakest link in the bowling department so far has been the form of Ravindra Jadeja who has not looked confident while bowling his quota. More often than not, he has been leaking runs when the other bowlers have kept the batsmen under pressure.
While it is a bit too late to replace him as it may upset the team rhythm – and we have seen how important it is to have a balanced spin attack – it is imperative that the team management, particularly team Director Ravi Shastri, have a chat with the young man. Shastri is a great motivator and can instill a lot of confidence in the fellow left-arm spinner.
The team management also needs to take a closer look at the batting middle-order. Skipper Dhoni found form against the West Indies but the issue lies at the crucial number five position that is occupied by Suresh Raina. His discomfiture against the short ball is known to all teams that play cricket (international and domestic).
After a belligerent knock against Pakistan, Raina looked out of sorts against South Africa and the West Indies and we all know that he can be an explosive batsman when in full flow. The team management could do well to give the south-paw an outing against Zimbabwe and hope he takes full advantage of the same. Or else, Skipper Dhoni will need to move one notch up the batting order.
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