My match review:
There was a lot to indicate that this would be the biggest match of the tournament so far, with the number of people tuning in and the peculiar placements in the Group A table (with Australia in third place). What the viewers got was an easy-paced, mediocre quality game of cricket that turned into a cliff-hanger of a contest in the last 30 minutes.
India were outplayed for the majority of the contest. Put in to bat, they did not get off to a good start, did not achieve any impetus in the middle overs, and only Mahender Singh Dhoni's intelligence under pressure allowed them to put on 68 runs in the last 10 overs.
With India returning to the opening pair of Sehwag and Tendulkar for this tournament, one expected a brisk start. With Sehwag falling early (with the score on 22) the chances of a good start were yet again cut in half. And once Pathan came in at number three to face a fired up Jerome Taylor and the accurate Ian Bradshaw, those chances looked slimmer. Pathan edged an innocuous delivery from Bradshaw onto his stumps without scoring (27-2).
It must be mentioned (and has been ad nauseum) that India's batting order is half the reason why the batsmen are not performing satisfactorily. Sehwag's lackadaisical attitude in the opener's spot, and his increasing inability to get the team off to any sort of start is becoming a huge handicap to the team. Gone are the days where one could argue that Sehwag was "the dangerman" for the opposition. Pathan's insertion at number three deserves no more than this one line of text - please stop it immediately.
For a period of 25 overs after that, India slowly built up a platform through Tendulkar, Dravid and Yuvraj, scoring 100 runs in that period (taking the score to 130-3 in 30 overs). Despite an inside edge knocking over Tendulkar's legstump for 29, Dravid was at his meticulous best, playing safe and finding the gaps, while Yuvraj looked to be gaining confidence and to be set for a big one, playing his trademark breathtaking drives. This was one of the few periods in India's inning where the batting team looked like it had any semblance of control over the proceedings.
Then came the hara-kiri. Yuvraj, playing Bradshaw for the first time in the match, overconfidently tried to loft the first ball of the 31st over extra cover. He only succeeded in giving the fielder the simplest of catches. Five balls later, Dhoni called Dravid for a nonexistent single after he had played the ball straight to mid-wicket. Dhoni's call was a poor one and Dravid was stranded by a direct hit from Bravo. Suddenly it was 131-5 in 31 overs, and West Indies were all over the Indians.
For 11 overs after Dravid was dismissed, India grafted around through Raina and Dhoni. They had no option but to eschew the risks. Lara, for his part, set good fields, with 6 men in the circle all the time. Samuels and Gayle got through some overs, and Jerome Taylor for his spell of 3 overs looked deadly accurate. Had the batting pair got through it and begun to make up the difference in the end (they only gathered 33 runs in those 11 overs), this segment of play would not have been a problem. Unfortunately, Raina was given out stumped to a poor 3rd umpire decision by Simon Taufel. Neither was it clear when the bail came off, nor was it clear whether Raina's foot was grounded. The most flummoxing part of the decision was the fact that the crucial angle by which to judge the stumping (from square leg) was only shown after the decision was rather quickly made.
In came Harbhajan at number 8, promoted above Agarkar in the order. He showed some enterprise, scything through the ball in his inimitable style. Dhoni also began to get a move on and the pair put on 49 in 6.3 overs. Dhoni, from being on 12 off 40 balls, ended up with a very creditable 51 off 65 deliveries. India ended up with 223-9 in their 50 overs.
Both teams were decently placed at the lunch break - West Indies would have been happy at restricting the Indian line up, and India would have thought that they could defend 223. Chris Gayle came out all guns blazing, while Pathan returned to his pop-gun bowling earlier in the season. Raina did drop Gayle (off Pathan) early in the inning, and this could have changed the complexion of the match completely, as Gayle went on to make 32 off 31, before playing a horrible slog which ended up at mid-off (43-1 in 9.3). I wonder how much criticism an Indian player would have received had he played that sort of stroke in that particular situation. Munaf Patel, who got Gayle out, continued to bowl with unflagging accuracy, something that is fast becoming his signature. He looked dangerous, beating the outside edge of Chanderpaul on a number of occasions. His first spell (6 overs, 1-18) was all that kept WI from running away with the game in the first 15 overs.
It seems that Lara had also been bitten by the "experimentation" bug, as he decided to send Bravo up the order at 3. Note to all readers, bring in your spinner early to this man. He struggled for his 16, and finally got out to Harbhajan. By this time, though, Dravid had gotten RP Singh into the attack. Bowling a series of bouncers interspersed with half volleys, RP Singh got tonked around by Chanderpaul, giving 29 off his 4 overs. This was Dravid's biggest error of the night. It was clear to every viewer that spin would be the way to go on the pitch at Ahmedabad, and his insistence on giving RP Singh a decent spell allowed Chanderpaul to get away to a 50 that eventually won him the man of the match award. The delayed introduction of Virender Sehwag immediately brought the wicket of Chanderpaul (120-3 in 27), and he settled into a teasing line and length, bowling in tandem with Harbhajan.
In hindsight it did seem like the exclusion of Ramesh Powar was an error on Dravid's part. Dravid continued with the spinners for most of the inning, except for 2 overs from Munaf Patel once Harbhajan had completed a spell of 8 overs. Yuvraj Singh was also introduced, but he was not able to keep the run rate down. Sarwan and Morton marched along, playing controlled percentage cricket. They did not panic and did not attempt to play any aerial shots against the spin of Harbhajan and Sehwag. Dravid, realizing that he needed wickets, maintained an attacking field with 2 or 3 close catchers at all times. It was entertaining to see the bowlers getting the fields they wanted. At one point Harbhajan had 2 slips and a bat-pad, while Sehwag made do with the legslip and bat-pad. The West Indian pair were unfazed, and calmly collected 2 or 3 singles every over.
The required run rate rose, with 57 needed in the final 10 overs. Everyone thought that this was ideal for the West Indies, with 7 wickets in hand. Little were they to know the drama to follow. Sehwag and Harbhajan continued to peel off over after miserly over, and the required rate began to pop above 6. Unfortunately for Dravid, he was hamstrung in his bowling options. Munaf Patel was off the field with injury and could not bowl his final two overs. RP Singh and Pathan had bowled with no confidence or control and were likely to get walloped were they to bowl to these well settled batsmen.
Agarkar was brought on to bowl in the 42nd over, having bowled an earlier spell of 5 overs for 22. He proceeded to give either a pair of wides every over, or a compulsory 4 - ball, or both. There was not much his skipper could do. For the first few balls of the over, Dravid would keep 5 or 6 men in the ring, to create some dot balls, and then would have to spread the field for the final deliveries. Agarkar displayed little control, and even less common-sense, as he tried more than once to bowl the short ball, which were dispatched effortlessly to the boundary every time.
The required run rate had peaked at 6.5, with 39 needed off the final 36 balls. A pair of expensive overs from Sehwag and Agarkar brought that down to 24 off 24 balls. Having run out of options (Sehwag and Harbhajan had completed their spells), Dravid was forced to bring in Pathan. In such crucial stages it is essential to have control of yourself. It was clear that Pathan would need to bowl the slower delivery, full up, and hope for dot balls if not wickets. By now, Runako Morton looked a bit agitated, as this game was getting closer than it needed to be. Imagine Runako's utter surprise when Pathan served him up a slower ball which pitched half way down the track. He gleefully pulled it away for 4. The shot was so powerfully hit that it cracked his bat.
Now 17 were needed off 3 overs, and a boundary here or there would seal the match. Agarkar trotted in to bowl the 48th over. A couple of balls straying down the legside, and the compulsory wide, gave 5 runs off the first 4 balls, before he trapped Morton LBW off the fifth. A dangerous wide (in that it could have hit second slip in the crotch) and a single to the new batsman, Lara, rounded off the 7 run over.
10 were needed in 2 overs, and the great Brian Lara had strode in. This was a poor move on Lara's part. He had spent most of his time on the field struggling to bend to field balls. He was not padded up for the majority of West Indies' inning. But he decided that he should come out to bat, injured, with 10 runs to win and some quick runs to be scampered. It stank of overconfidence and plain desire to hit the glorious winning runs. Lara was ill at ease even against the trundling Pathan. The first ball was a full in-swinging delivery which he patted back to the bowler. The second was a better length, completely squaring up the great man and resulting in a big appeal for caught behind. The ball had gone off the pad.
10 were needed in 10 balls, and Pathan served Lara up with the worst hit-me ball of the previous two hours (since the time RP Singh had bowled). Lara latched on to it and it sped through the covers for 4. The crowd went silent. 6 needed off 9 balls and this game was over. Or so they thought. Pathan sent down another innocuous slower delivery, and Lara, not able to move into position played an ugly inside edge onto his wicket. This match was becoming a real tease for the Indian fans.
Marlon Samuels, the new batsman, sliced his first ball to point. No run, 6 needed off 7 balls. Off the last ball of Pathan's over, he decided to go for glory and gave an almighty heave at the ball. It skied to mid-on, where Dravid dropped a difficult catch. But, with the batsmen trying to scurry 2 runs, the ball was thrown to the non-striker's end where Sarwan was run out!
5 were needed off the last over, and everyone was trying to comprehend what was going on. 2 new batsmen were now in, Dwayne Smith was on strike, and the Indian players got together for one last conference. It was to my dismay that Agarkar was given the ball for the final over. He has bowled in this situation many, many times before, and has always come unglued.
To the crowd's amazement, Agarkar speared the first ball full and into the stumps. Smith missed it completely and was bowled for a golden duck! Now 5 were needed off 5 balls, and 3 wickets were in hand! Baugh was the new batsman in, and the first ball he faced was down the legside, not called wide. 5 needed off 4 then. The next ball was tapped and a single was scampered. 4 needed off 3 balls. Agarkar could be the hero or the villain, with Samuels on strike.
He proceeded to bowl his worst ball off the match. Short and wide, Samuels happily hit it over backward point for 4 to end the match. An inexplicable ending, some poor quality cricket, and a case of players not being able to hold their nerve. India, for their part, suffered poor captaincy and from a confused and inadequate batting order, not to mention some awful death bowling after an admirable job by the spinners. West Indies, while vulnerable to a case of the hare-brained suicidal tendency every now and then, have emerged as the form team of the tournament.
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AuthorTopic: Post-Match Analysis (Read 4856 times)
